


Six Shots and a Pine Box

by AgentCodywolf



Series: Wild, Wild West [1]
Category: Jurassic World (2015), The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Barry is a good bro, Crossover, F/M, Faraday/Owen just needs a hug, He's confused, Joshua Faraday becomes semirespectable in his new life, M/M, Owen Grady and Joshua Faraday are one in the same, Reincarnation, but then not, other characters might be added
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-23 08:29:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 27,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8320939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentCodywolf/pseuds/AgentCodywolf
Summary: Owen thought his dreams were just that, dreams. Until he goes to work on an island filled with dinosaurs and his buddy reminds him that nothing can ever just be that simple around him. Still, you can't blame him for making at least one A-Team reference every time the new security team for the raptor paddock showed up. At least Blue found him funny. Or maybe she was just hungry and wanted to humor him.





	1. My Life was a Nightmare

Owen Grady had always known he was a little different. While the other kids had played cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians in the backyards in his neighborhood, Owen had stayed to his house and his backyard, happy to play with a deck of cards under the supervision of his trusty dog, Jack. He’d never enjoyed play fighting. His dreams were full of enough of smoke, guns heavy in his hands and blood running like the Nile through dusty streets. He’d told his parents about those dreams once. His mother told him to stop being a crybaby and his father told him real men weren’t afraid of war. Maybe that’s why, as soon as he could, he got out of that backwater town and hit the war zones.

He’d gotten in enough fights in his childhood to know how to figure out which ones he could win, which ones he had to try to win and which ones to avoid. He knew about strategy, knew it because his dreams showed him. As he got older, he started to wonder if those dreams were really dreams. There was too much he could do on instinct that he hadn’t ever learned. The card tricks he’d used in high school to confuse the bullies long enough for their victims to get away. How he could figure out the correct angle for a punch to disorient but not to do too much damage. How he could talk his way out of most situations. How he could look at a person and just know how to read them. How the weight of a gun scared him because it felt so comfortable.

His scores in biology got him out of the main troops early on in basic. His work with some of the service dogs got him pulled in for some additional training and he soon found himself in programs within the Navy that allowed him to work with animals more than people. He had always found animals easier to handle than humans. They were complex in their own way, but it made sense to him. Through these programs, some classified some not, he ended up getting his Master’s in Biology with an emphasis in Animal Behavior.

This didn’t mean he spent most of his time in safe zones. He did his part, earned his medals. Its where he first started meeting the rest of the Seven in this lifetime. He didn’t even think about it at first, the nightmares of this war overtaking the nightmares of his past self. They’d all changed their names to the ones from the past, but that didn’t cause any alarms to go off. They should have.

 Sam Chisolm was the first, like before, trying to recruit him into a Black Ops unit. Owen had just laughed and told him the A-team met around the corner. Black Ops was for the crazies, not scientist grunts like him. Jack Horne was next, stopping at the research center for a three month stint. He thought Owen was crazy, working with tiger sharks to sniff out bombs in the water. He thought Owen was even crazier when it worked.

Billy and Goodnight showed up next, passing through camp and stopping for a night to rest up. He never knew what their mission was, only saw them across the mess tent. One of his buddies pointed them out, trying to guess which alphabet agency they worked for. Vasquez was next, a quick one nighter while his unit was “in town”. Looking back, he realized Vasquez had known who he was and still gone for it. That should’ve been a sign right there.

Red Harvest had pulled his ass out of that hell hole, Owen thrown over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes as the Black Ops team secured the enemy base where he had been tortured for three weeks. He didn’t remember much from the rescue, but he remembered Red Harvest stopping by while he was healing, leaving a deck of cards by his bed while he’d still been knocked out by modern medicine. He’d left the Navy shortly after that. InGen picked him up not long after that and the rest was history.

He honestly hadn’t thought about it much until Barry had brought it up, the bastard. The man had helped him through many a rough spot, so it only made sense he’d create a few too.

“Have you heard Lowery’s recent theory on Claire?” Barry had plopped down by Owen the catwalk over the newly build raptor research center. The eggs were still in the hatchery and Owen still needed to figure out how he was going to get raptors to bond with him.

“If its aliens again I’m shutting that whole betting pool down,” Owen grunted, his arms resting on the railing as his feet dangled off the edge of the catwalk.

“No, Claire quashed that one herself. He thinks she’s a reincarnation of some historical figure,” Barry chuckled. “I said it had to be at least three. A businessman, a politician and a model.”

“Reincarnation? He seriously believes in that?” Owen glanced at Barry, confused but curious.

“There are some cultures and religions that believe that a soul can be born again, be given a second chance. There are also some that believe we are born again as animals, so its anyone’s guess,” Barry shrugged. “Why, do you?”

“Maybe,” Owen had focused back on the jungle, for the first time in years thinking about the dreams he’d had as a child.

“Maybe? Owen Grady, the most non-religious person on the planet, maybe believes in reincarnation?” Barry had snorted, looking at Owen before growing serious. “You’re not kidding?”

“You ever get dreams as a kid that were so real they couldn’t have been just dreams?” Owen didn’t know what made him say it, but it was out there now.

“No, I didn’t. But, when I ran into my husband, before we were married, I swore I had met that man before. I dreamed that night of a life, a long time ago, that we had had together,” Barry turned so he was facing Owen more. “You’ve listened and accepted all the stuff my husband and I do.”

“I have. I even wear the charms you’ve made me,” Owen nodded, still focused on the jungle.

“What’s going on in that head of yours, Owen Grady?” Barry asked softly.

Owen let out a deep breath, thinking hard about this before finally turning to his bestfriend, “Do you want to see a card trick?”


	2. Don't Bite the Hand

“They finally sent us a security detail,” Barry called as he made his way to the open paddock gate. Just over a week since the Incident and Owen still wasn’t sure why he was here. Yeah, he’d kissed Claire and yes he had said they should stick together, but once they’d sat down and talked as adults they’d realized they both were trying to grab what they couldn’t have together. Claire had to focus on her nephews, her sister’s divorce and trying to salvage something from this mess.

Surprisingly there was a lot they could salvage. Masrani, bless his corpse, had plans in case of his death. For being such an upbeat guy, the man could be morbid at times it seemed. Claire had admitted that he spent so much time moving around because of assassination attempts early on in his career. Because of his hidden paranoia, Masrani had planned many an event out with his lawyers. In the case of his death, even if it was because of an escaped dinosaur, the running of his park would temporarily go to Claire until his successor could be located and brought up to speed. His son, Sanjay, had been running one of the branches of Masrani Global at the time and had been notified. The boy was from a one night stand but Masrani had stepped up and raised him as his son. Him and the boy’s mother had never married but he had made sure she lived comfortably as well.

InGen should not have stepped in. Masrani had made sure that the only function of InGen was as security, nothing more. How Hoskins had amassed so much power was still unknown, but Sanjay had stated he planned to complete his father’s greatest challenge, dismantling InGen. He also had stated that he hoped he could reopen the park someday, but for now the goal was to contain the dinosaurs and keep the island running as a research facility. Within hours of Claire being notified that Sanjay had taken the reins, only hours after being reunited with her sister, Claire had been on her way to meet at Masrani HQ in India and Owen had been headed back to the island, Barry and Barry’s husband, a wilderness guide by the name of Chris Thompson from Australia. Chris had some military training so Owen had no problem bringing him along. The two got along ok, both wanting to make sure Barry was safe. Owen would never forgive himself his something happened to his best friend and Chris hated that he hadn’t been there with his husband during the Incident.

Owen had the helicopter drop them up at the control room and gotten them one of the trucks that were kept in the underground parking for ACU to use. They’d headed for Main Street, Barry wanting to bury the girls before they tried to track down Blue. Rexy was still wandering around, but Lowery had come back a little before them with back up and the control room was sending them regular updates. Other handlers were waiting for Owen and Barry to contain Blue so what was left of ACU could herd Rexy back to her pen. Once both carnivores were secure, the other handlers could return to tend to their animals.

Instead of finding bodies, they found dried blood trails. After a heated conversation with the control room, mainly over cameras still being down out by the raptor paddock and not having backup, the three were headed out on the access road back to their paddock. Owen kept his eyes on the road, not wanting to make eye contact with Barry. He’d seen his girls in their last moments, he knew it was a slim chance for any of them to be alive.

Blue had been waiting back at the paddock for them, standing guard between them and her sisters. Charlie was sporting some bad burns from the explosions and Owen didn’t doubt her sisters had carefully dragged her back to the paddock. Delta lay nearby, her burns not as bad but still needing immediate care. Echo had dozens of puncture wounds from where the I-rex had grabbed her, but she was able to stand, head down warily.

Owen had never been happier in his life and had barely put the truck in break before him and Barry were out of the truck, Chris following at a slower pace. Blue had lifted her head, chuffing a little as she smelled the air. Owen had waved Barry back as he approached carefully. After a few tense minutes, Blue had dropped her head and approached Owen, pressing her head to Owen’s chest. The next few hours were tense, Blue following the three of them around as they treated her sisters. Once she had figured out that Chris was not a threat, she had even allowed him to help Owen and Barry.

The change in the raptors was astonishing but helpful in the long run. It would be a long recovery for the ladies, but Owen had high hopes. Especially after the vets got back on the island with medical supplies. Chris had run into the main park to get the supplies, seeing as no one wanted to be anywhere near the raptors. Lowery had gotten the cameras up and running in time to catch Owen taking a nap on Blue. After that debacle had been sorted out, Claire had put a ban on anyone approaching the raptor paddock unless approved. Owen still wanted a security detail out here, though. InGen had gotten to his raptors once, he didn’t want it to happen again.

“About time the hired help showed up,” Owen grumbled as he rewrapped Echo’s bandages. Chris had basically been running security all week, seeing as the raptors were wary of him. Owen had traded off to give him a break, but the three man team was looking forward to a few more hands.

“They aren’t for your personal use,” Chris called from up above, where he was working on doing some repairs to their paddock. InGen hadn’t been nice when they were there and Chris had added the repairs to his to do list.

“No, but it frees you up to be the errand boy for me and Barry,” Owen called back. “We’ve gotta get the ladies back on their schedule. Or a schedule for that matter. If you’re gonna stick around, we’re gonna have to introduce you as a handler to them so you can be in here with me and Barry.”

“We’ll have to start closing the gates again,” Barry pointed out.

“We’ll need to fix the gates,” Chris countered. “They don’t close.”

“We’ll need to order parts for the gates,” Owen glanced back at them. “I kinda used some key parts in the locking and closing mechanism to fix the generators.”

“Ok, so we just make sure the security detail stays outside the fence then,” Chris shrugged. “No problem. When do they get here?”

“Claire said they were on their way when she called,” Barry shrugged. “Depending on how fast they drive, they could be here soon.”

“How are we just finding out they’re coming now?” Owen patted Echo on the rump before standing, wiping off his hands on his pants.

“Claire said she emailed you two days ago about them coming,” Barry shook his head.

“Oh, I haven’t checked that all week,” Owen snorted. “Well, make sure all the ladies are inside then and we should be fine.”

“Where’s Blue?” Chris stood as the rumble of trucks reached their ears, scanning the pen. Echo stayed where she was, stretching out to enjoy the sun. Delta and Charlie were just outside their indoor enclosure, near the water tub to stay hydrated but not have to move much. Blue was….missing.

“Oh no,” Owen ran for the gate, scanning the tree line outside the fence. “Blue! Now is not the time for hide and seek!”

Only the noise of trucks getting closer answered. Owen let out a short breath, thinking fast, “Barry, see if you can find her with her tracker. Chris, keep an eye on the other ladies, make sure they stay inside.”

“What are you going to do?” Barry called after Owen as he grabbed his shotgun from the holster on his bike.

“Keep my girl alive, hopefully,” Owen checked that it was loaded before heading towards the access road, shotgun resting comfortably in his arms. “And maybe still have a security detail afterwards.”


	3. Welcome Wagon Waylaid

“Ms. Dearing seemed nice,” Eduardo “Eddie” Vasquez spoke up from the second row of the jeep he was riding in, his mike picking it up for everyone in the other vehicles to hear as he checked over his guns. One jeep, one utility van holding all of their gear, and a truck hauling their living quarters formed the convoy the security detail for the raptor paddock.

“Remember that name, boys,” Sam Chisolm cut in before any more comments could be made from where he drove the jeep. As leader of this group, he needed to keep them in line. Easier said than done, “Accidentally calling her Emma Cullen will get us all in a load of trouble.”

“I can’t believe she’s running this theme park,” Goodnight “Goody” Robicheaux called from his seat in the front of the utility truck. Billy Rocks was driving, idly twirling a knife in his left hand as he steered with his right.   

“Were you expecting her to do anything less in this life?” Red “Red Harvest” Horne laughed from his seat driving the truck at the back; Jack Horne, Red’s adoptive father, staring blankly out the window of the cab. “She held her own just fine way back when.”

“Can’t believe Teddy is her personal bodyguard, though. That kid was afraid of his own shadow way back when,” Goody laughed. “Don’t know why she needs one anyway.”

“Technically he’s in charge of security for the control center place now, seeing as the last one quit. Before that, he was just a security guard for Sanjay Masrani,” Billy cut in drily, not overly impressed by the man’s higher status. “He still trails her like a besotted puppy.”

“They did get married last time around,” Jack added softly. “I bet it was a lovely ceremony.”

That sobered the mood right up. Even after a few years working together, first as freelance bodyguards and now as a division in the security department of Masrani Global, it was still hard to get over the fact that most of them had died during the Battle of Rose Creek, as they had taken to calling it.

“Vasquez didn’t bang Faraday last time, though,” Billy broke the somber moment, reminding them of their secondary purpose here. Once Claire Dearing, aka Emma Cullen, had met the security team that had come with Sanjay Masrani to meet her at the airport in India, she had immediately put into motion their reassignment to Isla Nublar, primarily to work security for the raptor paddock. She’d met with them personally, along with Theodore “Teddy” Quin. The little reunion was darkened for a moment when the seven men remembered the one member who was missing till Claire had shared a picture of her nephews shortly after they’d gotten off the island, standing next to the man who had saved the resort, Owen Grady.

The men couldn’t get to Isla Nublar past enough after that, especially after Claire had said that Owen or Faraday as the other’s still called him, was more respectable than in his previous life but hadn’t shown any hint of remembering his past life. Vasquez had gotten plenty of heckling once the others had found out about his one night stand as well. Although most of them found Red’s encounter with Faraday to be a bit much, especially seeing as their last memories of Faraday were him being blown up.

“Well it wasn’t acceptable last time, now was it?” Vasquez snarked right back at Billy. “And we didn’t have as much time together as you and Goody.”

“I can’t believe he’s here,” Goody said wistfully, gesturing at the dossier Claire had given all of them before they’d left India. He’d been studying it most of the ride, “Having a hard time connecting Faraday to this Grady guy. Master’s degree in Biology, Medal of Valor to top off an impressive list of awards from his time in the Navy, and the leading specialist in the world on raptor behavior.”

“Faraday didn’t know words longer than three syllables last time we met,” Jack added, chuckling a little. “And now he’s a goddamn genius. At least the rest of us are somewhat the same.”

“Yeah, we got the gun-toting chaplain from the Army, the Mexican Marine, our Black Ops guy way in the back, our very own colonel and war hero with his assassin boyfriend and our fearless leader, the former Seal,” Vasquez counted off on his fingers. “Loco is what it is.”

“Think one of those raptors follows him around like Jack did?” Sam laughed as the sign they passed called out the raptor paddock a mile ahead.

“They are almost the size of a small horse,” Billy chuckled as Goody let out a deep laugh.

“And they are deadly,” Red added. “Seen those claws? Don’t doubt that Faraday is still crazy.”

“Alright, boys, time to be professional,” Sam cut in as the raptor paddock came into view. A man in cargo pants, a long sleeved shirt and vest carrying a shotgun was approaching the convoy with long strides. Sam spotted another man coming out of a building with a tablet while another stood on the catwalk above the open gate into the paddock.

“Sam, should the gates be open?” Vasquez sat up, his grip tightening on his gun as he leaned between the seats.

“Guys, stay in the vehicles till I sort this out. Grady looks like he means business,” Sam answered before coming to a stop feet from the man, who he could clearly identify as Owen Grady, former Navy and head of the raptor program here. The way the shotgun sat comfortably in his arms spoke of a man who knew how to handle his weapons, but his stance was all Faraday.

“Good god, it’s him,” Vasquez breathed out as he stood, rifle in hand.

“Stay in the vehicle,” Sam reiterated before climbing out the jeep.

“Stop right there,” Grady’s voice was smoother, less twangy than Faraday’s but it still flowed the same. “You the security detail?”

“That we are. We’ve got all our equipment with us, so just point us where you want us,” Sam closed his door and leaned against it, casually scanning the area.

“I’m only counting three raptors in the pen, boss,” Goody’s voice crackled in his ear.

“Well, if you boys could hold here for a bit, we’ve got a bit of a situation here at the moment,” Grady was trying to look innocent, but the way his eyes were darting around told a different story.

“That have something to do with the open gates?” Sam nodded towards the mentioned openings. “I was told the raptors were contained.”

“They normally don’t wander much. We had to juryrig the generators with some parts and haven’t gotten around to getting parts to fix the gates,” Grady shrugged. “We weren’t expecting visitors.”

“Ms. Dearing told me she was emailing you about our arrival,” Sam raised an eyebrow, noticing that the man with the tablet was stabbing it somewhat angrily with his finger and swearing in French.

“We’re a bit busy here. I was only just informed by my associate you were coming. I just need to locate Blue and we can get you boys settled,” Grady’s stance shifting was the only clue Sam got before there was a thud to his right and then he was being shoved up against the jeep, something screaming at him. Huge teeth appeared in vision as everyone started yelling, Vasquez swearing up a storm as Goody tried to keep the others under control.  Loudest of all to Sam was the click of the shotgun loading and Grady yelling at the top of his lungs.

“You shoot my raptor and you all will be leaving this island with a few more holes in you!”


	4. At Long Last

Owen really hopes that Blue doesn’t get shot. He really does. There are 5 men all pointing weapons at her and….is the Asian guy really holding a knife while everyone else has a gun? He lets that go, focusing on keeping his weapon trained on the nearest guy, a tall, buff guy standing in the back of the jeep, swearing in Spanish….oh shit it’s the one night stand from ’08. Great, just great. Best day ever.

“You shoot my raptor and you all will be leaving his island with a few more holes in you!” Owen roared over all the yelling, effectively silencing and drawing everyone’s attention to him, except Blue. She was focused on the man between her forearms, held in place only by her head inches from his. The black man looked pale but calm, all his attention of the raptor before him. At least he hadn’t reached for the Glock on his hip. One good thing so far.

“Lower your weapons. She hates guns and will be able to effectively disarm all of you before you could move,” Owen kept his eyes on Blue, but his gun stayed pointed at the one night stand. Hell, what was his name?

“Do as he says,” one of the guys, an older gentleman who looked oddly familiar, ordered, lowering his rifle at the same time. “Let the man do his job.”

The Asian with the knife followed suit immediately, but the others followed reluctantly. The Mexican was last, eyes shifting between the carnivore and Owen, eyes tight. Owen let out a breath before lowering his shotgun, focusing all of his attention on Blue, “Blue, stand down.”

She jerked but didn’t move away, hissing slightly. Owen cursed InGen for possibly getting his raptor killed before taking a few steps closer, standing within reach of touching her and making a big show of putting his gun on the ground, “Come on, Blue, play time is over. Stand down, now.”

Blue snorted before turning her head to him, making eye contact. She clearly was asking for more playtime, obviously enjoying scaring the new guys. Owen shook his head, straightening up, “This boys are here to help us, Blue. I would like them to be in one piece to do so. Stand down.”

She snorted one last time before removing her claws from the jeep and stepping away, shaking her head. She chuffed at the black man once before moving over to Owen, dropping her head in submission and making a questioning noise. Owen rested his hand on her head for a second before scratching between her eyes, “We’ll laugh about this later, but right now you are going on a time out, young lady. We do not scare people and we do not wander off without telling an adult. Understood?”

He removed his hand and Blue raised her head, nodding slightly before brushing past him and jogging back through the gates. She sat down near the fence, watching them closely. Owen watched her go, making sure she did as she was told before focusing on the men. They were all still tense, grips tight on their weapons. Owen gave a weak smile, “She just wanted to say hi.”

“That’s how your lizards say hi? With claws and teeth and screaming in faces?!” the Mexican snapped, hopping out of the jeep as the older gentleman moved forward to rest a hand on the black guys shoulder, looking him in the eye. The Asian followed standing close by. The other two stayed back but shifted a few feet closer. Santa Clause was carrying a hatchet. Who the hell had Claire sent him?

“We’re still working on her social skills. Look, I’m sorry about that but we’ve had a stressful week so I’m honestly not going to punish her for being protective. The fact that she didn’t eat your man is actually a huge improvement,” Owen’s mind was going a mile a minute as he turned to Barry and Chris, who had moved to block the gate together. This whole week had been a huge improvement with the girls and the fact that Blue didn’t really attack a stranger who had not been introduced to her by Owen or Barry was big, “See if you guys can get the footage from Lowery on that. I’ll need to review it for data. See if you can get Claire to lift the ban, too. We need to repeat this to see if it was a onetime thing or if the raptors have actually learned to read body language to threat assess.”

“Are you seriously doing science right now?” a hand grabbed his shoulder and spun Owen around. He acted on instinct and used the momentum to bring his fist around, catching the Mexican square in the jaw and throwing him to the ground. He heard all of his girls hiss behind him, but he kept his focus on the Mexican on the ground.

“She didn’t eat your friend over there, amigo. A week ago, they were attacking anything that moved, including me. If I can prove that the raptors are able to threat assess, getting this park open might just happen so excuse me for doing my job,” Owen snapped before scooping up his gun and turning around, marching towards the paddock. “Chris, get them set up. I want them settled by sundown.”

“Sure thing,” Chris threw a glance at Barry before moving so Owen could enter the pen, catching the shotgun shoved at him as he went. Barry followed Owen into the paddock as he approached the clearly agitated raptors, all four of them not gathered by the gate.

“Get Delta settled back in the lean-to. I’ll get Charlie,” Owen stopped a few feet from the girls, trying to collect himself. Something about that group was grating on him but he could place it other than that he was recognizing them from somewhere.

“You alright, Owen? “ Barry stopped by Owen, watching his friend carefully.

“That guy I punched? Slept with him in 08. Pretty sure I’ve met all of them while I was serving,” Owen grunted, running a hand threw his hair as the raptors shifted restlessly.

“Fuck, Owen,” Barry breathed out before moving forward to herd Delta farther into the pen. Echo followed on Barry’s heels. Blue stayed where she was, watching over Owen’s shoulder. He took another deep breath, knowing the raptors were picking up on his emotions before moving forward to run his hands over Charlie, making sure she hadn’t jostled anything when she moved. Once he was sure she was ok, he gently guided her back to the lean-to. Blue followed slowly, keeping one eye on what was going on outside the pen. Owen could hear heated voices and then vehicles moving. They didn’t leave, but Owen would still have to deal with them. Chris would lay down the ground rules but Owen would have to make it clear who was in charge out here. He’d have to figure out who their leader was, too. He was sure hoping it wasn’t the Mexican…

“Oh shit,” Owen hissed as he stopped just outside the lean-to.

“What is it?” Barry looked up from helping Delta lie down.

“They’re all in my dreams. The ones from before. Barry, I knew them,” Owen breathed out, pressing his forehead against Charlie’s shoulder. “Fuck, I knew them.”


	5. Supper with the In-Laws

Grady had disappeared into his office a couple hours ago and other than an almighty crash about an hour ago, there had been nothing from inside the small building located next to the raptor paddock. Chris Thompson, husband of Barry Thompson and former wilderness guide, had gotten them settled on the left side of the parking space set up outside the main paddock. Barry had come over right before Grady had disappeared with maps of the entire raptor complex and told them to study up. Grady had assignments for them but they would be dispersed in the morning. It seemed the previous security detail had done what it wanted, much to the annoyance of the research team. Barry and Chris had retreated shortly after, having a quick discussion before disappearing to do whatever it was that they did.

Vasquez had just finished setting up a fire pit outside of their trailer and was watching the raptor by the fence watch them. She didn’t blink once, staring at them without moving a single muscle. Billy and Red were the only other two actively watching her, both men looking a little disturbed by their watcher. Billy was shadowing Goody, who was with Sam looking over the maps and data they had. Red had helped Jack set up their food station and was now going over his weapons. Jack was getting things organized inside the trailer, the only one who actually seemed happy to be out here.

Vasquez could not connect this man, Grady, to Faraday at all other than appearance. He was just so different, but maybe not. Vasquez was used to Faraday’s standoffish but brash attitude and his loyalty being only directed at the other 6. This here was maybe similar. He’d have to think on it more. For now, he was more interested in the assignment. They hopefully had time to approach Grady about the whole Rose Creek thing later.

As if sensing his thoughts, Grady appeared out of the office, squinting up at the sun before looking over at the 6, “You boys all settled?”

“As much as we can be, Mr. Grady,” Sam straightened from where he was leaning over their command table. “No hard feelings about earlier.”

“Yeah, well I just got off the phone with Claire,” Grady shifted a little uncomfortably. Huh, something was definitely going on there. “Sorry about not being prepared. The security guys from before the Incident all lived inland, so there’s not much out here but if you guys need anything more just let me know and I can get it out here in a few days.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, Mr. Grady,” Sam nodded, trying to look friendly. “We’re just here to keep you and your animals safe. We’ll try to stay out of your way as best we can. Ms. Dearing briefed us on the protocols and the Incident, so we understand some of the hostility out here.”

“Yeah, I’m sure she briefed you,” Grady sighed, looking back up at the sky. A sharp bark cut through the air and they all turned to see the raptor had moved without them knowing, standing at the inner gate, tail waving a little. Grady’s shoulders relaxed a little and he laughed, “I think Blue is trying to say sorry. Or she wants to show off. Either way, its dinner time for the ladies and we’re trying to keep them on a schedule. I’ve gotta take care of them, but I’ve freed time up tomorrow to walk you all through the complex and go over the basics. Let you guys get acclimated to Casa Raptor out here.”

“You feed them the same way you did with the tiger sharks?” Jack’s voice echoed from behind him and Vasquez caught the slight jump Grady did before turning, face school into a blank slate.

“A little different. There’s a big intelligence jump between the tiger sharks and raptors,” Grady shifted a little before nodding to himself. “If you want to watch, you can. Its pork tonight. Got some pigs in yesterday and the ladies need to stretch their legs.”

“Oh, I gotta see this,” Jack smiled brightly as he took the steps two at a time and made his way over to Grady. Red wasn’t far behind, rifle slung over his shoulder as he followed at a slower pace. Sam glanced at the others before shrugging and inclining his head forward before moving after the others. The rest of the group followed a little slower.

“Chris, is the pig ready?” Grady gave them all a weird look before turning towards the pen, where the raptor was now gone. Great, now he was going to paranoid all the time.

“All set, Owen,” a voice called from above. Chris was standing at a station set on the catwalks which seemed to have a few controls built in. Owen headed up the nearest set of stairs, taking them two at a time.

“You guys stay on the perimeter. The only time you will go on the catwalks will be in extreme situations. The catwalks are for the handlers, no one else,” Grady headed out onto a catwalk, stopped and turned around to face them. “This is my world, gentlemen, and I would really appreciate it if you would follow my lead on this one. I may just be a grunt to your spec ops, but I’m the one who has been working with these ladies the past few years. Just because they’ll act all cute and friendly to me and Barry does not mean they will with you,” Owen glanced down into the pen, where three of the four raptors were assembled. “They are killing machines, evolving in some of the harshest environments to be the deadliest of the lot. A T-Rex will swallow you whole, a Spinosaur will hunt you till she’s got you right where she wants you, but you end up facing a raptor pack in the wild and there is no way out, no trick in the book that will save you. As a wise man once told me, a raptor will take you down and cut you in the gut to make sure you stay nice and sweat to eat. They don’t hunt for pleasure but that does not mean they do not get pleasure out of the hunt. Because you are friends with the Alpha around here, they don’t see as prey. If that should ever change, you had better be on the first ferry off this island.”

“And who’s the Alpha? Blue?” Jack moved to lean against the nearest railing, watching the three intently.

“No, she’s the Beta. Didn’t feel right naming her that, though,” Grady smiled fondly at his raptors. “She was supposed to be Beta, to complete the run. Beta, Charlie, Delta, Echo. Changed her name when she hatched cuz of the stripes.”

“Still doesn’t answer the question,” Goody cocked his head to the side. “Blue is clearly above the other three.”

“I’m the Alpha. It’s the only way this whole thing works. As long as they see me as the Alpha, this program will work. Once that is gone, we’re all screwed,” Grady looked sad at his last statement.

“I’m in position, Owen,” Barry’s voice came from below and Vasquez looked down to see him standing in the open inner gate, what looked like a taser on a stick in his hands.

“Alright, lets get this show on the road,” Owen turned and walked down to where a bucket was hanging from the catwalk, pulling something out of his vest pocket as he went. “Eyes up!”

On command, three heads came up, all three hunters focused intently on their handler. Vasquez moved to the railing, taking a moment to scan the pen. The fourth raptor, wrapped up pretty well in quite a few bandages, was lying in the lean-to over to the side, watching calmly but not making a move to join the other three. She must be hurt bad if she’s not getting up for food.

“Ok, ladies, lets see what you remember with a week off,” Grady raised one hand, what looked like a clicker held loosely while the other hand reached into the bucket. “Ready!”

All three raptors shifted, heads still up but bodies lower to the ground. All three looked like they might be vibrating in anticipation. Grady pulled out a chunk of meat from the bucket, “Good job, ladies, good job. Looking good, Echo.”

He threw the meat to the raptor in question, who caught it and swallowed, still holding position. Grady grabbed another piece and threw it while saying, “Keeping it tight, Delta, good girl.”

The next raptor did the same and Grady reached in and this time pulled out a rat of all things, “Blue. Always classy, that’s my girl.”

He threw the rat and Blue swallowed it whole. Vasquez swore her eyes darted to him as she did, almost in a threatening manner. Grady clicked his clicker twice, “Eyes up! And….go!”

On go, a gate on the far side flew open and a pig, a live pig, came flying out. The raptors moved as one, Blue and Echo melting into the foliage as Delta chased the pig at a sedate pace. They could hear the pic squealing as it moved around the paddock, but only the occasionally moving leaves gave anything away.

“What is the point of this?” Red sounded a little disgusted. Maybe wistful?

“I need to prove to Claire that I have some form of control over the ladies before she’ll give us permission to go do some hunting elsewhere on the island,” Grady kept his eyes on the tree line, stance relaxed. “I want to run with my girls again, so I’m going to do what it takes to make sure it happens. They are under orders to just tire the pig out, not till it till I give the command.”

“You can’t control them,” Vasquez growled. “You said it yourself.”

“No, you can’t control them, but I can at least make it look like I can,” Grady shrugged before giving a sharp whistle. A bark came from the trees, then two more before the pig came back into sight, but no raptors. The pig came to a stop not too far from Barry, sides heaving as it looked around, obviously trying to decide if it was safe or not. That moment of indecision was its last mistake.

Owen let out another sharp whistle and a blur exploded from the tree line, slamming into the pig as it gave one final squeal. Blue looked up at Owen from where she hovered over the pig, her snout bloody, obviously waiting. Grady watched her for a minute before he nodded, “Charlie first.”

Blue sank her teeth into the pig as the other two appeared and dragged it to the lean-to, dropping the kill by her injured sister. Charlie gave a short bark and all four turned to look at Owen. Owen smiled, almost feral like, “Dig in.”

Vasquez couldn’t decide, as Charlie ripped a leg off the dead pig, if that smile scared him or turned him on. Possibly both.


	6. Confusion and Insanity in a Colorful Package

 “I think we need to work on your social skills,” Chris sat down beside Owen on the catwalk, handing him a beer. It was a couple hours past feeding time and the A-team, as Owen had dubbed them after they walked away only a little pale, had settled in around their fire pit for the night. Owen could hear them laughing behind him as the sun set, laughing and just talking. They all seemed close, just like when they were in Rose Creek. He wondered if any of them remembered their past lives or if it was just him.

“They all seemed to handle it just fine,” Owen shrugged, taking a sip from the open bottle. A loud laugh came from behind them, causing Owen to jump a bit. The hardest part was knowing all the voices. That was Vasquez, the man who had shot a man into a pine box for winging him back in the day. His one night stand he hadn’t been able to get out of his head.

“You’re avoiding them and then you invite them to watch feeding time where your raptors, “Chris gestured to the ladies stretched out below them. “Devour a live pig. I’m sure they’re all thinking about how fast they can get out of here or send you to a mental institute.”

“Who is going to a mental institute?” Barry asked as he sat down next to Chris, beer in his hand. Chris threw an arm around Barry, pulling him close.

“Owen, if he keeps sending mixed signals to our security detail,” Chris said casually, taking a sip from his beer.

“I am not sending mixed signals to the A-team,” Owen grunted.

“What is that song you played at last year’s review? Oh, you’re hot and cold, you’re yes and no,” Barry laughed and Chris soon joined him, both leaning against each other.

“Ha, ha, very funny but that was so bad. Close, but so bad,” Owen grumbled as he took another sip of his beer. “It’s not going to rain tonight, so I’m sleeping with the ladies.”

“Maybe you should sleep in your bed, since the grounds guys were so nice to move your bungalow over,” Chris pulled himself together, glancing over at the dark bungalow situated straight across the parking lot near the other tree line.

“We’re coming on monsoon season. Not too many nights left for sleep overs,” Owen took a big swig from his bottle. “I just got them back, Barry.”

“What about them?” Barry subtly gestured to the group behind them. “Will you tell them?”

“Tell them what?” Owen took another big swig. He was trying to avoid this topic will all his being.

“The whole you-knew-them-in-a-past-life thing,” Chris took a sip from his bottle. “Barry and I are married. He can’t keep anything from me and I know how to get what I want out of him. So don’t blame him, I was persuasive.”

“Seriously, just let me join you two, just once!” Owen threw up his hands. “Do I have to beg?!”

“Other than trying to distract us while your poor seduction techniques, can we get back on point?” Barry leaned forward to look at Owen, who was avoiding his eyes. “No, we will never let you join us in bed in that sense. Now, are you going to talk to them?”

“About anything pertaining to the here and now, yes. About back then….I’m going to give it time. I need to make sure it’s them,” Owen finished off his bottle. “I didn’t just die that day, guys. I blew myself up. I thought those were just really weird dreams until I saw them all again. I need to figure this out myself, too.”

The other two were silent for a while before Chris spoke up, “We aren’t going to force you to tell them, but we need you to come to terms that there’s a good chance that they know about you already.”

“I know that. I get all that, but I need time. I’m not….I’m not Faraday. I’m Owen Grady and they need time to realize that,” Owen sighed, resting his head against the railing.

“Alright, we’ll give you time,” Barry nodded, focusing back on the land stretching out before them, the sun dipping below the horizon.

“I for one am ready for this day to be done with,” Chris took a sip of his bottle before passing it to Owen and taking his empty one before standing. “I’ll see you boys come morning.”

“Not if I see you first,” Barry stood as well, taking the half full bottle from Owen before following Chris. “Don’t stay up too late, Raptor Momma.”

“That was one time!” Owen turned to yell after them, catching some of the men below looking up at him. He let out a frustrated sigh before standing as well. With the security detail here now, there would be a few things off his plate. He still had to lock up for the night, but hopefully soon that job could be passed on.

Hours later found Owen finally done for the night. He’d double checked all the cameras, even the ones he’d set as a secondary perimeter early in the week. All the sensors were working fine and a call into Control had confirmed that everything was quiet across the board. Weather was calm for now, but a storm might roll through in a few days. Claire was on her way back and had him slotted in for a visit in two days to see how he was getting on with his security detail.

The fire was low over by the A-teams trailer and he didn’t spot anyone hanging around so they must’ve gone to bed as well. He made sure the security office was locked up tight before he made his way over to the first gate, stopping to lean against the metal as he watched his girls. All but Blue were asleep, even though she was pretending to be. They were all curled up together, a spot left open for him.

He scanned the area first, double checking that nothing was amiss. He just knew that InGen wasn’t going to back down without a fight. He wasn’t going to let anyone take his girls from him, not again. They were his girls, his babies. Blue was his Jack, just as much as the horse way back when had been. He’d had nothing but his animal then, too. If Sam hadn’t shown up when he had, there would have been bloodshed that day at that corral. People came and went, he let them go because that was human nature. Animals, now they were something special. They didn’t care about all the cracks you might had. As long as you were dependable and loyal they didn’t care.

“Thinking pretty deep there, Mr. Grady,” the voice started Owen, but he didn’t jump. The Navy had been good for something. He glanced to his right to see Sam Chisolm looking in at his raptors.

“Mr. Chisolm, you’re up late,” Owen didn’t move, focusing back on his girls. Blue’s head was up, watching them.

“Just taking my watch. You may have not given us official orders, but it’s not our first rodeo,” Sam folded his arms over his chest. “Nothing too fancy, just one of us on to keep an eye on things over night.”

“How many shifts you got going?” Owen grunted, meeting Blue’s gaze. She snorted before resting her head on her forearms.

“Three for now. If we’ll need more, I’m sure you’ll let us know,” Sam kept his eyes on Owen.

“That should be enough. Storm coming in a few days, Claire two days from now. We’ll know more once she stops by,” Owen straightened up, running a hand through his hair. “I hope you know what you signed your men up for.”

“InGen thinks they own the raptors, think they own the park,” Sam said casually. “You’re the farthest out since the herds were pulled in once the T-Rex was wrangled. Only a small number on staff. We may be few, but we’ve faced higher odds.”

“You know what I find interesting, Mr. Chisolm? I’ve run into each of you over my Navy career,” Owen didn’t give Sam a chance to give his own answer. He knew Sam was pushing, but he wasn’t sure what he was pushing.

“Call me Sam. We all go by our first names in this Unit. Or what we want to be called,” Sam gave a small smile. “And it was just a happy accident I guess. You really sleep with Vasquez?”

“That’s a conversation for another day,” Owen shook his head. “They’ve got stories on me, I’ve got stories on them. All of them classified.”

Sam laughed, nodding in agreement, “I’ll give you that one, Mr. Grady. Heading back to your bungalow?”

“Offering to walk me home now? No, I’m not. Looks like the ladies got a spot all set for me. I’ll see you in the morning, Mr. Chisolm,” Owen nodded at him before heading inside the pen.

“It’s Sam,” Sam called after him, sounding more than a big concerned. Owen waved his hand back at him before flopping down by his girls, his head coming to rest on Blue’s stomach. She shifted around so her head was by his elbow before blowing a puff of air and closing her eyes. Owen didn’t relax himself till he heard Sam moving away from the pen. He was pretty sure he even heard him say, “Still a crazy son of a bitch.”


	7. Leader of the Pack

Two days later and everyone was getting ready for the park manager to show up. Well, almost everyone. Barry and Chris were checking over Delta, Echo and Charlie one last time and Sam and Jack were keeping an eye on the cameras. The rest were trying to figure out how to tell Claire that the raptor trainer and his beta were missing.

Not missing per say, just not back yet. At 4 in the morning, the roar of a motorcycle had woken them all and they had all left their respective housing to see the taillight disappear into the darkness, something racing alongside it. Barry had stopped the rest of them from chasing after Owen and Blue, saying that the two were probably just restless and they would be back, eventually.

That had been hours ago.

The sun was up and Claire had sent them all emails saying that she would be there at noon. It was 11 am and still no sign of the handler or the raptor. Trying to get anything out of Barry on where Owen could be was impossible, the other handler just kept telling them to wait.

“She shows up here and Grady isn’t back, we are all dead meat,” Vasquez grumbled as he flicked the butt of his cigarette away. He was leaning up against the jeep, trying to appear casual but they could all see the tension in his shoulders.

“He could be anywhere in the Restricted Area,” Goody growled, glaring at the map he was looking over. “What the hell was he thinking?”

“We won’t know till he gets back,” Red sighed, sitting on top of the hood of the jeep, sharpening his hatchet. Billy was using a nearby tree for target practice with his knives and had them laid out on a cloth by Red on the hood. He grunted in agreement before throwing another knife.

“You guys sure do have a lot of weapons,” Chris said as he sat down in a camp chair by the cold firepit, munching on some popcorn while he watched the four men. He’d told Barry it was better than cable, watching the six and Owen interact.

“Don’t you have something to be doing right now? Like finding your boss?” Vasquez snapped at him, clearly not amused.

“Nah, Barry’s just finishing up with Charlie. He’s going to try Owen’s radio again when he’s done with that,” Chris shrugged, stretching out his legs. “Plus, Owen restricted my cable privileges. So all I have is you guys. Better than Jersey Shore sometimes.”

“Seriously, what is your job here?” Vasquez threw up his hands.

“Just extra muscle for Barry and Owen. Not much I have to do, really. The ladies all go in their litterbox and we haven’t used anything but the main paddock since the Incident. Until we get the parts Owen ordered, there’s not much I have to fix,” Chris gave an innocent smile. “I’m seeing this as a vacation, myself. Me, my husband, my husband’s bestfriend all hanging out on a nice tropical island.”

“Full of things that want to eat you,” Billy interjected.

“Nah, you just gotta ignore that part,” Chris smirked before sitting up suddenly. “You hear that?”

The others all fell silent, ears straining to hear whatever Chris had. Distantly they could hear what hopefully was the engine of a motorcycle. Vasquez straightened up, turned to look towards the access road from the Restricted Area. Billy turned, knife in hand while Red just kept sharpening his hatchet. Goody glanced over at the security outpost, where Sam and Jack had appeared in the doorway. He had no doubt that Barry was leaving the paddock to watch for Owen as well.

Owen came into view, Blue keeping pace easily. He was bent over the handlebars, no helmet or any sort of protective gear on. The man was insane, first sleeping with the creatures and now racing one. Vasquez hadn’t had a problem before he’d met Owen Grady. Faraday had been crazy, talking himself into and out of trouble like no one he’d ever met. For all his bluster, the man also had balls. He’d kill you as soon as he got bored with you. The fact the man stayed around to help at Rose Creek was out of character for the man Vasquez had heard about through bar room whispers. But getting to know him on the trail to Rose Creek and then the days they had to prepare, he realized that for as much as Faraday kept everyone away, his morals were just as ironclad as Sam’s. He was an asshole, but an honorable asshole.

Owen Grady was something different. It was as though modern society had broken the fragile barrier keeping Faraday from crossing the edge. Sure, he got along with Barry and, in extension, Chris, but in general he kept all people at an arm’s length. When it came to animals, though, he couldn’t get enough of them. He’d somehow found time in the last two days to make runs to some of the other paddocks to help with the other dinosaurs. And the connection he had with them was amazing. If he hadn’t seen it for himself, he wouldn’t believe it. The dinosaurs responded to Owen on a different level than the other handlers and vets on the island.

He was also 100% sure that if Barry didn’t keep tabs on Owen, the man would’ve tried swimming with the mosasaur at some point. He slept with the raptors, for crying out loud. Animals they’d all seen footage of ripping men apart and even trying to attack Owen on numerous occasions. But here he was, racing a velociraptor.

Vasquez had officially seen it all.

Owen abruptly hit the brake feet from them, swinging the back of the bike around as he skidded to a stop with a foot of space between him and Vasquez. The handler was grinning like a madman up at Vasquez as Blue skidded to a stop past them and then coming back to Owen and bouncing behind him like a hyper puppy. Good lord, what had Vasquez gotten himself into.

“Where have you been?” Vasquez decided he could contemplate his life later and focused on the most pressing matter.

“I wanted to see how fast the girls could go and now seemed like a good enough time. We got all the way up to 60 in some of the flatter areas,” Owen was still smiling like a goddamn lunatic, breathing heavily. “Then we tried out some signals we’d worked on in the paddock to see if she would respond while running. It was great!”

“Claire’s going to be here in a half hour, Owen,” Barry called as he made his way over. “And you didn’t leave a note.”

“I checked in with Lowery when I left. He was up running a new line of code. He was tracking me the entire time, ain’t that right, Lowery?” Owen pulled an earwig out of his ear and pulled a radio out of his pocket, flipping a switch.

“…him to call you like a million times, Barry, but then we got going on this theory on hand signal use with the raptors and oh my god, Barry, Blue mastered that magic trick we tried to teach them when they were babies! The one with coin behind the ear! It was beautiful, I started crying!” the excited voice of the computer geek filled the air, a little high pitched.

“How long have you been awake, Lowery?” Barry covered his eyes with his left hand.

“Well, InGen has been trying to hack the system for the past few days, since like….I don’t know at least four days,” Lowery burped and then there was a slurping noise. “Claire brought me a few cases of monster, though, so I’m like set for life here.”

“They’re going for really stupid systems, too. The Nursery, the Ferries, stuff like that,” Owen cut in. “Lowery was trying to figure out the real target, so he was running stuff by me. Neither of us could figure it out.”

“Sanjay sent some more techs with Claire, so I’ve got backup. Well, more backup. The head guy with them, Simmons, is threatening to sit on me if I don’t take a nap at some point in the next three hours. We’re bonding already!” Lowery was seriously too excited right now.

“They aren’t going for cameras or any security systems. No Trojans, either. It doesn’t make sense,” Owen shrugged. “It’s a distraction, but so far nothing else has popped up. ACU hasn’t found any activity at any of the other sites and nothing has come near the island. Even if they wanted to, there’s a fleet of ships and planes out there ready to stop them. It’s kinda cool.”

“It’s kinda cool that there’s this group of people you pissed off by killing their boss, so they’ll be gunning for you personally?” Vasquez crossed his arms, glaring down at Owen. The man’s smile finally started to falter. Good.

“I don’t like feeling trapped,” Owen growled, setting his shoulders before standing, swinging his leg over the bike. “Claire will be here soon. I’m going to get cleaned up. Don’t you guys have something to go explode?”

“We don’t explode anything!” Vasquez snapped. “We try to save people.”

“Well, you can’t save everyone, Texican, so don’t try,” Owen snarled before shoving past him, pushing the bike. Blue followed, stopping and snorting at Vasquez, tilting her head to the side. She snorted again, showing a few teeth it what possibly might be a smile before Owen to the paddock.

It was only after the raptor had moved on before Vasquez realized what the trainer had said.

“There’s no such thing as a Texican!”


	8. Break the Barrier

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am watching Jurassic World for like the 4th time this weekend and I've been listening to the soundtrack to Magnificent Seven all week so no worries, this story is still going strong. I will be going back to posting once a day and it is about to get intense so I am sorry in advance for cliffhangers. 
> 
> Thank you to all of you who are commenting, especially those of you who have commented multiple times because you have kinda inspired a few chapters with your questions. 
> 
> Now, back to your scheduled reading!

Jack and Red were the first to remember. Jack Hoskins was used to trying to avoid his brother, Vic, on a good day. So when he joined up as soon as he and his twin turned 18, he made sure that his brother had already joined up with the Navy so that he could personally beg his recruiter to keep them as far apart as possible. Jack knew since he was around 15 that who he was wasn’t the whole story. He had notebooks filled of his weird dreams. When he came back from basic and discovered his neighbor was fostering this little kid fresh off the reservation, Jack realized that he was being given a second chance. And by little kid, he meant an angry 15 year old who had been sucked into the system and was fighting it every step of the way. Jack figured it was only fair that he’d step in and help this Red kid. Red wasn’t his real name, but he’d lost that to the system as well. Jack somehow lucked out and got an extension on his leave to adopt this kid before they were shipped off to Hawaii. It was there Red admitted that he remembered as well. It was awkward for a time till they both accepted their second chance.

Goody remembered when his head got slammed into a car door while in Hong Kong. He was there to meet an informant of his just outside the Embassy and somehow it had turned into an ambush. He woke up in a warehouse, all alone except for the man sitting nearby, sharpening a knife. Billy had remembered his whole life and had used it to his advantage. All he told Goody was that he was an assassin but that he was going where Goody was going. They got out of Hong Kong and shipped to the front, Billy going where Goody went.

Vasquez remembered in church, of all places. He went there every Sunday with his abuela, who was raising him. His parents had died when he was younger. He was straightening the pews up after a service and had looked up at the front of the church. It was a major head rush and he had sat there for maybe 20 minutes before his abuela had come back for him. He told her everything and she had called him blessed, hugging him close and telling him to learn from the mistakes of his past self. He’d joined up the day after he buried her, unable to continue to live in the house she’d opened up to him, accepting him for who he was now and what he had been. She’d even set him up with his first boyfriend, even threatening the boy with disembowelment if he hurt her little man.

Sam remembered after he had gotten choked out in a bar brawl just off base. He woke up in a hospital bed, trying to feel the rope scar he remembered being around his neck. It had nearly gotten him kicked out till he had pulled his head back together. His superiors figured they were all crazy in Black Ops anyway. Just so long as he saw the therapist about his trauma over being choked, then he was good to go. They didn’t know the real reason behind the massive panic attack he’d had in the hospital and they never would.

He was also the first one to meet Faraday. None of them could figure out how they hadn’t recognized him. They all remembered at that point in their lives, but they hadn’t figured out it was him.

Sam and Goody had run into each other a few times and Sam had just recruited him and Billy to his Black Ops team. He had been looking for a fourth man to help round out the unit and had been pointed towards Owen Grady. The kid had been working a special unit in the marines, working with mainly dogs but there were some projects that were classified. He also had plenty of experience under his belt if all the blackouts on his files were anything to go by. When he approached the man, he was honestly surprised by the down to earth, shy kid waiting for him. That was, until he joined Grady on a patrol to see how he did and watched him take down an enemy with nothing more than his bare hands and a penny. The kid still said no at the end of the day.

Jack found him next, both assigned to the same project to train dolphins and tiger sharks to find mines in the water that they couldn’t use technology to find. Jack was mainly there to oversee the operation, working with the dolphins a little bit to see if they would listen to someone other than the main handlers. Owen worked with the dolphins for the first few weeks before he took on the sharks. His success with them was amazing and Jack had coauthored some of the kid’s papers on it, even though they were only seen by the higher ups. Jack stayed on when the three months were up, but Owen moved on, promising to stay in touch. That worked up until he was discharged, then the man became a ghost.

Billy and Goody only saw him from across the mess hall, stopping in at a base on their way to meet up with Sam to finally head home. Sam was starting a private contracting service and wanted the two of them to help start it up. He had a line on some of he others and was meeting with Jack before they left. Billy pointed Owen out, seeing as the kid was blatantly watching them. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes were full of amusement. What was so funny they never found out.

Vasquez found him working out on base, his unit “in town” for the night till they loaded up the next day to head home. Owen had his shirt off and wasn’t that just a lovely sight to see. Owen somehow got his bunkmates to clear out for the night, which wasn’t hard since there was only four of them in the tent. Vasquez was sad to leave in the morning, but Owen had clapped him on the shoulder and promised to look him up someday. Vasquez had just laughed and left. It wasn’t till they were over the ocean that he realized who he had been fucking that night. The others never let him live it down, either.

Red Harvest was the last to find Owen, and he literally found Owen. The others had been almost horrified when they’d learned the youngest had joined the Seals, but Red figured it was a good fit for who he had been. His unit had been sent in to find a missing group of Marines and had found a cell of insurgents instead. It had been Red who had found the hidden cellar after the main floor had been cleared and it had been Red who had found the cells in the far corner. Owen had been one of three out of a group of ten marines who had survived.

Red hadn’t shared much from his encounter with Owen, but he had been the only one who had recognized him for who he was right away. He had contemplated approaching Owen after the man had awoken, but he had seen the haunted look in the marine’s eyes when he had woken briefly, the fear in them when they had spotted Red. Now wasn’t the time to bring up Rose Creek when Owen was still very clearly living in the hell hole Red had pulled him out of. He left a pack of playing cards on the man’s bedside table and walked away.

Now, finding Faraday again after all those happenstances, it felt like something was finally settling into place. The man had been a womanizer and a gambler, a magician in his own right and a very skilled horseman. They all had been good with weapons, but Faraday’s two pistols were pieces of the whole just as much as the used card decks and the constant bottle of whiskey he had on his person. Trying to reconcile that man with this Owen Grady….it was hard for them. Or at least, it had been till Claire Dearing had stepped out of her truck at exactly noon three days after they had found Joshua Faraday again.


	9. Down the Rabbit Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a question, so am going to try to answer it here!  
> Owen-30, he's had 3 tours all in the middle east, one year of basic, two years on Isla Nublar before the Raptor squad and now three years with the Raptor Squad.  
> Vasquez-32, 3 tours in the middle east but didn't join up till he was 20, 6 years with Sam  
> Sam Chisolm-36, 2 tours in the middle east, another 3 tours in Black Ops going who knows where, 8 years running his security team  
> Jack Horne-34, 1 tour stationed in Hawaii, 1 tour stationed in the Philippines and then 2 tours in the middle east, a year working for a zoo and then 7 years with Sam  
> Red Harvest-31, 3 1/2 tours as a Seal before he was shot, honorable discharge and joined up with Sam  
> Goodnight-35, 1 tour in the middle east, 3 tours running black ops, 1 tour stateside training, 7 years with Sam  
> Billy Rocks-35, background unknown, ran into Goody somewhere in Goody's 1st tour in Black Ops, stayed with him since

Owen had always had something for power. Powerful women, powerful men, powerful animals, powerful machines. Maybe that was why, in the beginning, after he’d settled in but before the raptors had hatched, he had gone for Claire Dearing. She was a force to be reckoned with, not taking any of Owen’s shit from the beginning. She came across as the Ice Queen of Isla Nublar, but Owen had seen her smile and it was like the sun coming out. Not her fake smiles she shared with her employees or the investors. No, the smiles she gave when Zara came in with another story about another party that had failed because they hadn’t called her. It was the smile she got when Masrani wasn’t looking as he handled another little trike.

Deep down, he knew she wanted to be a mother. He wasn’t sure what was stopping her, but she had turned that need into a career, running this park with a skill and grace he admired. Her fondness of those closest to her, her ability to mother hen without appearing to do so, was something she rarely showed to anyone outside of her inner circle and even then they didn’t always notice.

Owen had made his career watching people. It was a skill he had perfected as Faraday and now used in abundance as Owen Grady. Catching glimpses of that Claire, the real Claire, had fueled his need to know her better. He had sought out a date from her, knowing that how he was perceived here was something very different than who he was. He was a womanizer, flirting with the majority of the female staff on the island, and some of the men. So getting Claire to go out with him was just a matter of annoying her or Zara enough to make it happen.

Owen was sure the itinerary was just something she had joked about to try to annoy him. He realized his mistake when he’d shown up at the hotel bar and there she was, dressed to the nines and looking about ready to kill him. They got through the appetizers before she had left and Owen didn’t blame her. He’d let her be for about a week before tracking her down at her condo, someplace private where he could apologize without hurting either of their reputations.

He stayed the womanizer up until his raptors had been born. Then, in front of the entire Hatchery crew, he had morphed into Momma Raptor, cuddling and cooing like a sap. She stayed the Ice Queen, that was never going to change. But, if in public they were hostile to each other, then who was going to assume that they were good friends.

The kiss after she had tranqed the little hellion had been spur of the moment. He would be the first to admit that his track record with women was shit, but to hell with it all. Her standing over him, focus entirely on him, gun in hand, reminded him of a former Mexican mercenary. They’d parted, once again after the end of it, as friends.

And then she had sent this security detail. Whatever this woman was playing at, Owen knew he wasn’t going to win. So he kept his mouth shut and recommended she stop by when she came back to the island. He didn’t expect such a quick response but here she was, white outfit perfectly in place as always. And of course she was wearing those ungodly heels again. Her gaze met his as he straightened up from adjusting the camera he was mounting on his bike and….holy mother of mayhem, it was Emma Cullen in the flesh.

He’d put the moves on Emma Cullen and lived.

He couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at his lips. He’d kissed Emma Cullen. Aw hell, he was going down in legend now. He wondered if her husband existed in this life time or...Teddy Q. Wow, the man had filled out.

Teddy Q had stepped out from the other side of the truck, rifle resting in his hands. He didn’t look like a scared little village member now.

“Well, well, well, look who it is,” Owen made sure to swagger over to Claire, catching her rolling her eyes just for a second. Teddy Q looked fit to kill. Oh, this was going to be fun, “And you brought lunch!”

“Teddy, this is Owen Grady, head of our Raptor department. Owen, this is Teddy Quin. Mr. Masrani assigned him as my personal bodyguard,” Claire was using her no nonsense voice. Oh, she was giving him a bit of length on his leash. Something was absolutely going on.

“Teddy Quin? Teddy short for something or did your parents name you in the hopes you’d be cuddly,” Owen smiled real big, showing all his teeth, as he held out his hand to the man.

“Theodore, after the president,” Teddy answered, taking the hand with a sigh. Owen dragged him in close, gripping the back of his neck with a firm hand.

“You hurt her and there is no one who will find what’s left of you. I wasn’t kidding about you being lunch,” Owen snarled in Teddy’s ear before pulling back, all back to smiles. Teddy looked a little pale and he quickly pulled away when Owen let him. Good, very good. There was hope for this man.

“Now that you’re done measuring your dicks, I brought the parts that you ordered,” Claire gestured to the back of the truck, as though nothing had happened. “And I see the security detail is all standing this time.”

“That was one time and it was his fault,” Owen moved to the back of the truck, looking over the boxes inside.

“Sam Chisolm, good to see you again,” Claire’s voice was clear and crisp, causing Owen to turn around slowly. Claire was shaking Sam’s hand, smiling politely but it wasn’t fake. Owen scanned the rest of the group quickly, noting how relaxed they all were now, compared to when Owen had stormed off a half hour ago. Claire let her hand drop after a quick shake before turning to the rest of the group, “I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble.”

“I think the briefing you gave us was a little on the light side, but we’re figuring it out,” Goody laughed as Vasquez turned to glare at Owen. Huh, not good if Claire was siding with them. He was counting on her being in his court. Although…Emma Cullen. Damn.

“Blue is the only one out of the four really up for lots of moving, which they all should be thankful for,” Barry cut in, catching Owen’s eyes with a quick shake of his head. “Echo is the one who normally tries to pull the pranks around here. Blue is much more…calm.”

“Yeah, we should all be eternally grateful that my girls are here at all,” Owen snapped at Barry. “Seeing as they helped take down the I-Rex and everything.”

Barry held up his hands, clearly picking up on Owen’s agitation. Owen was still angry from earlier with his run-in with Vasquez. The man had no right to assume anything about Owen, no right. He was free to move around as much as he liked and this A-Team wannabe wasn’t going to stop him.

“He took off on his bike this morning,” Vasquez spoke up, still glaring at Owen. “Without telling anyone.”

“Blue needed some exercise and so did I,” Owen tried to glare at Vasquez but Claire stepped into his line of sight, eyes hard.

“Mr. Grady?” Claire’s voice was icey. Goddamn you, Vasquez.

“I checked in with Lowery regularly and I had my tracker on. And Blue was with me,” Owen crossed his arms. “You initially hired me, Ms. Dearing, as a security consultant. I was only doing my job. “

“Your job now is to run this research center, Mr. Grady,” Claire crossed her arms, mimicking Owen. “We are on high alert around here till InGen is dealt with. That means no running off. Am I understood?”

“I am independent from the rest of your staff, Ms. Dearing. I answer directly to Mr. Masrani in this instance, since my former boss tried to KILL my raptors. I’ve read my contract, I know how the hierarchy works around here. I defer to you because you run this island, but you can’t just give me orders anymore,” Owen growled. “So unless you’re here to arrest me for being a former InGen employee, let’s get this meeting done and over with.”

“You were the one who asked me to come here today, Mr. Grady,” Claire raised an eyebrow at him. “And we’re currently working on a new contract for you. Mr. Masrani will be bringing it with him in a few weeks. I do hope you sign it.”

“If I don’t?” Owen straightened his shoulders, meeting her gaze head on.

“I will have to ask you to leave the island,” Claire said softly. Owen flinched bodily like he had been slapped, eyes wide. A loud bark came from behind them but Owen and Claire didn’t move as the others turned to look at the obviously irate Blue.

“You can’t take them away from me, Claire,” Owen said softly, breathing picking up. “They won’t listen to anyone else.”

“I don’t want to, Owen, but the Board is breathing down our necks here. If you don’t sign that contract, your job is terminated, this research center is terminated and your raptors are.”

“Don’t you fucking say it,” Owen reached out quickly, gripping her arm tightly. “Don’t you dare.”


	10. Long Live the Queen

Seeing Owen Grady swagger over to Emma was something to behold. In the final days before Rose Creek, Faraday and Emma had formed a somewhat begrudging friendship. He didn’t go after her and she didn’t heckle him. It was a strange sort of peace for the others to see, but it existed. Now, it was like it all went out the window.

Looked like Teddy’s patience was about to follow, too. Goody wanted to feel bad for the kid, but he wasn’t sure which one to feel bad for to be honest. He glanced at Billy, who just shrugged, looking a little too excited over the whole situation.

It had been a tense half hour since Owen had gotten back from his little joy ride. He’d stormed off and gotten cleaned up before working on his bike while waiting for Claire to show up. Vasquez had moved back over by the firepit, looking about ready to skin something alive. The others, including Barry and Chris, had done their best to stay out of the way. Goody only wished they could’ve warned Emma about it.

“Well, well, well, look who it is” Owen looked positively pleased with himself. “And you brought lunch!”

“Teddy, this is Owen Grady, head of our Raptor department. Owen, this is Teddy Quin. Mr. Masrani assigned him as my personal bodyguard,” Emma smiled politely, sounding a little amused at the two men.

“Teddy Quin? Teddy short for something or did your parents name you in the hopes you’d be cuddly,” Owen smiled real big, looking a little feral if Goody was being honest. There was something about Owen that was just a little bit more wild than Faraday had been.

“Theodore, after the president,” Teddy answered, taking the hand reluctantly. Owen used his grip on Teddy’s hand to pull him in close, his free hand tight on Teddy’s neck. Goody let his hand drop to the pistol he kept on him at all times, but Billy covered his hand, shaking his head a little.

“He’s just letting Teddy know how things are,” Billy whispered as Owen drew away from the now pale Teddy, looking like the cat got the canary.

 “Now that you’re done measuring your dicks, I brought the parts that you ordered,” Emma was ignoring whatever had just happened then. “And I see the security detail is all standing this time.”

“That was one time and it was his fault,” Owen moved to the back of the truck, ignoring the rest of them as Emma moved towards Sam.

“Sam Chisolm, good to see you again,” Emma smiled brightly, shaking Sam’s hand warmly. Owen had spun around, looking wary. Ah, so he didn’t know much about how they had gotten there. Not a good thing in the least, “I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble.”

“I think the briefing you gave us was a little on the light side, but we’re figuring it out,” Goody cut in, laughing a little as he caught Vasquez turning to Owen out of the corner of his eye. He was mighty tempted to just lock those two up and get them to figure this whole mess out here and now.

“Blue is the only one out of the four really up for lots of moving, which they all should be thankful for,” Barry cut in, picking up on the growing tension. “Echo is the one who normally tries to pull the pranks around here. Blue is much more…calm.”

“Yeah, we should all be eternally grateful that my girls are here at all,” Owen snapped at Barry. Not good if Owen was lashing out at his friends. “Seeing as they helped take down the I-Rex and everything.”

Barry held up his hands, possibly trying to calm the other man down. So, there was something more to the morning ride than just needing to stretch his legs. Goody glanced over at Red, who had shifted from his perch on the jeep hood to casually leaning against it. Red nodded his head at Goody before focusing back in on the others.

“He took off on his bike this morning,” Vasquez was still pissed, it seemed. “Without telling anyone.”

“Blue needed some exercise and so did I,” Owen tried to focus on Vasquez, obviously looking for a fight, but Emma stepped inbetween them. Goody flipped his hand over on top of his pistol so he was holding Billy’s hand. This was not going to end well.

“Mr. Grady?” Claire’s voice was icey. Could you freeze on a tropical island, but Goody was fearing he might.

“I checked in with Lowery regularly and I had my tracker on. And Blue was with me,” Owen crossed his arms, ready to take a stand it seemed. “You initially hired me, Ms. Dearing, as a security consultant. I was only doing my job. “

“Your job now is to run this research center, Mr. Grady,” Emma crossed her arms, mimicking Owen. “We are on high alert around here till InGen is dealt with. That means no running off. Am I understood?”

“I am independent from the rest of your staff, Ms. Dearing. I answer directly to Mr. Masrani in this instance, since my former boss tried to KILL my raptors. I’ve read my contract, I know how the hierarchy works around here. I defer to you because you run this island, but you can’t just give me orders anymore,” Owen growled. Holy shit, the man had been working for InGen. All the paperwork they had made it seem like he was working for Masrani. “So unless you’re here to arrest me for being a former InGen employee, let’s get this meeting done and over with.”

“You were the one who asked me to come here today, Mr. Grady,” Emma did not sound happy at all. “And we’re currently working on a new contract for you. Mr. Masrani will be bringing it with him in a few weeks. I do hope you sign it.”

“If I don’t?” Owen straightened his shoulders, eyes hardening.

“I will have to ask you to leave the island,” Emma said softly, just barely loud enough for the others to hear. Owen looked like someone had shot him, face going white. So very not good. A loud bark came from behind them and Goody turned to see an irate Blue standing at the open gate, eyes on her handler. Her tail was lashing back and forth. Her blood was up, she was worried about her handler.

“You can’t take them away from me, Claire,” Owen said softly, drawing Goody back to the matter at hand. He almost sounded desperate. “They won’t listen to anyone else.”

“I don’t want to, Owen, but the Board is breathing down our necks here,” Emma was sounding desperate now. That was new, normally she was so composed. “If you don’t sign that contract, your job is terminated, this research center is terminated and your raptors are.”

“Don’t you fucking say it,” Owen’s hand snapped out, gripping Emma’s tightly. “Don’t you dare.”

“I don’t want to, Owen. I don’t want to see you get hurt or your girls for that matter,” Emma took her free hand and wrapped it around the hand gripping her arm. “But I need you to understand the pressure we are under. People, our people, were killed. Civilians were injured. Sanjay wants us to reopen, but he’s putting protocols in place that Simon didn’t have before. He’s looking very closely at the programs InGen had a hand in. He’s already wiped Wu from our system and he’s on the warpath. He’s not stopping till he’s gotten everyone who got his father killed. I don’t want you becoming a casualty in this.”

“Bring him out here,” Owen, surprising all of them, shifted his hand so he was holding Emma’s. “Let me show him these raptors. Simon came out a couple times to see them. He had a connection with them. If I can do the same with Sanjay, I can save them.”

“That’s my plan. But for that to happen, I need you to work with the security detail, completely. Sanjay was going to send one, I got him to send this one. They will be reporting to him on the raptors and I only have so much pull with them to get you a good review,” Emma squeezed his hand before pulling both her hand and her arm away.

“I can’t start over again, Claire. I can’t do that again,” Owen gave her one more look before moving away, towards the still twitchy Blue. He talked softly to her as he approached and Goody watched in amazement as the raptor calmed, pressing her head up against his outstretched hand.

“Gentlemen,” Emma drew all their attention back to her. “Chris, Barry, how about you unload the truck while I meet with these men.”

“Sure,” Chris pulled at Barry’s arm a little before taking the lead. Barry cast one look at Owen before following, stopping by Emma.

“You kill those raptors, it won’t just be Owen who’s leaving this island. And I won’t be as polite as him,” Barry gave her a meaningful look before turning it on the other seven. “It will kill him.”

With that, Barry moved over by Chris. Emma cleared her throat, nodding to their living quarters, “Inside. Please.”


	11. What You See is Not What You Get

 

Emma, back in Rose Creek, had not been afraid to get her hands or any other part of her dirty. Her clothes reflected that lifestyle, often stained and patched but durable. Now, in modern times, Claire wore clothes that were still durable but looked more fashionable. She was supposed to be untouchable and had to appear that way as well. Some days she hated how everything had to be perfect and wished for the times when all she had to worry about was if the eggs had been collected. But her clothes were her armor in the world she now lived in and she wouldn’t give up the power she now had. Men feared her, where before they saw her as nothing more but a pretty face.

She’d first started to remember when she was 12 and her parents had sent her and her sister to a summer camp. She’d enjoyed being out in nature, thrived where her older sister had floundered. She’d adapted back then to meet the demands set by society and so she did the same in today’s world. She still didn’t let go of the memories she made at that summer camp.

Owen Grady had been a surprise sent by Vic Hoskin himself. Hoskins had single handedly made InGen a thorn in her side from his first day onsite. The board for InGen had hired him, with Simon’s approval, to run InGen for them. Simon had been hoping, with the man’s brash attitude, that he would ruin InGen. Instead, he had made it thrive. Simon wanted to take InGen down fairly, not through black mail and back alley deals, so he hadn’t been able to do much on his goal of dismantling the security branch over his years in charge of Hammond’s creations.

Owen Grady was supposed to be another of Hoskin’s goons come to rile up her employees. Instead, he had proven to be driven, caring towards the animals and a compotent employee. Simon had immediately written his own contract for the man, placing him under the protection of Masrani Global so he wouldn’t be swept up in the mess that was InGen when he took it down. Sanjay was trying to do the same now, but having so little face-to-face time with Owen, he was having a hard time understanding the former InGen employee. Hopefully, he would get past his grief to see how his father had tried to help those InGen had gotten their claws into.

Owen had been one of those, fresh out of the war, honorable discharge with nowhere to go. InGen had swooped in and gave him an offer he didn’t think he could refuse.

She just needed to make sure everyone saw it for what it was.

All of the men were seated sporadically around the sleeping quarters. Red was up in a top bunk, fiddling with a piece of wood and a knife. Jack was sitting below him, watching Claire intently. Billy and Goody were curled up on what probably was their bunk, hands linked in Billy’s lap. Sam was sitting at one of the desks they had fit in there, a thoughtful look on his face. Teddy was by the door, leaning against the wall as he tried to be patient but also keep Vasquez from taking off after Owen. Vasquez was sitting on the edge of the bunk nearest the door, his foot tapping against the floor. Claire was leaning against the dinner table, taking them all in.

She finally took a deep breath and began, “Owen Grady, who we all know as Joshua Faraday, was hired by InGen two weeks after he got out of a rehab program he had been in since being pulled out of the basement of a terrorist safe house three months prior. He had just been given an honorable discharge with full honors from the Marines with no place to go home to and no job lined up back stateside. Vic Hoskins personally approached him to be a security consultant here on the island, with plans to integrate him into the raptor program farther down the line.”

“Why are you telling us this?” Vasquez hissed, glaring at the door.

“Because you need to know exactly who you are dealing with here,” Claire brought her eyes to Vasquez. “The man out there has been let down time and time again by humans, myself included. He came out of the war more broken than when he entered and the only thing keeping him together right now are those raptors.”

“You said we are supposed to be evaluating him and the raptors for Mr. Masrani,” Sam leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. “What is he hoping we’ll say?”

“He’s hoping that you’ll tell him that Owen and these raptors are loyal to him, that InGen may have created this program but that they don’t control it anymore,” Claire folded her hands together. “I have known Owen since the day he stepped foot on this island. Its thanks to him that we have the security measures in place that we do now. He went through every single exhibit and paddock and told us what we were doing wrong. He has the unique ability to read the behaviors of these animals and let us know how to properly react. I don’t want to lose that and if the raptors are terminated, I will be losing that.”

“Those aren’t his first raptors, are they?” Billy asked quietly, meeting her gaze coolly.

“Blue is from his fifth batch of eggs and the other three are from the seventh. He was there with every single batch, he talked to every single one of his eggs. He even had to put down a few of them himself. I saw how broken he was after each dead raptor,” Claire let her eyes drop, remembering how she had once had to remove Owen herself from the hatchery after a whole batch of eggs had failed, going bad just days before the hatch date. “He’s been working with these girls for three years, since Blue was first hatched. I had to write protocol on taking baby raptors home because he was doing that. I have a picture somewhere of a little baby Blue with her own motorcycle helmet, riding with her Daddy through the park, “she smiled wistfully. “It was the hardest thing to do, ordering him to not let them out of the paddock. He was making huge progress with them but Simon was getting nervous.”

“You kissed him,” Teddy said simply, out of the blue like it was obvious. They all turned to him, eyes wide, even Claire. Teddy shrugged and continued, “Lowery told me. We were bonding over control room shenanigans and he showed me the footage. He was going to show me the Date Incident, but he couldn’t find that footage.”

“Wait, you went on a date with him?” Vasquez was on his feet now, looking somewhere between angry and confused. Oh, damage control time.

“We both were lonely, I was still coming to terms with the whole reincarnation thing and we were living on an island. IF we didn’t get ourselves together, the staff would have done it themselves,” Claire stood, facing Vasquez while trying to appear nonthreatening. “And the kiss was right after we had found my nephews. Pteranodons and dimorphodons were trying to eat everyone and one of the little buggers got a lucky hit on Owen. I picked up the tranq gun and fired a few shots off. It was heat of the moment and we realized later it wasn’t ever going to work between us. He is very much so still in love with you and I am very much so still in love with my newly discovered second husband. Am I clear?”

“Yeah,” Vasquez sat back down, looking a little stunned. So did the rest of the crew it seemed, although Teddy was looking smug. Red used the moment to swing off the top bunk and make for the door. Teddy reached out to stop him, but Red just shoved him off.

“He’s clearly still dealing with that last mission. I was there, I saw what he looked like. I’m going to try to help,” Red said simply before leaving the trailer, letting the door swing closed behind him.


	12. Never Left the Desert

Red was perfectly happy staying in the background, functioning as the silent stalker that he had been trained to be. Becoming a Seal was an obvious choice for him. He’d known who had been in the past since he could remember, accepting it as a gift, as his parents had taught him. Learn from your mistakes and you can go far, his grandmother had once told him. Ignoring what you are and what you were will only make for a cold winter, his grandfather had stated later.

So a Seal he had become and he had done well for himself. After finding Faraday, though, he hadn’t had much heart left in the job. Sam approaching him while he was recovering from his own injury had been a god-send, as Horne would have said. Getting out was a chance to not only reconnect with his new father-figure, Jack, but to reconnect with old friends.

Now, being here on this island with their whole group on the brink of being intact, Red could see the tension creating cracks in their foundation. Faraday was floundering, too many memories coming at him at once. While dying might be an issue for him from the past, the current problem that Red could see was Owen’s escape from the insurgent camp. Red had been there, had seen and assumed the horrors Owen had experienced. There was a connection there he could work with to help heal Owen and get their family whole once more.

He wasn’t surprised to see Faraday sitting on the catwalks. The man had liked to have an eye on everything, even back on Rose Creek. He’d sit on the balcony of the second floor of the saloon and just watch the landscape around them. He wasn’t a sniper like Goody, but his eyes were sharp, picking up on the minute details to read a person better than Red had ever seen. He could read the landscape and know where the best locations for an ambush would be. He hid his skills behind his magic tricks and brash exterior. Red had had the opportunity to observe the man when he actually stopped for a moment and just observed.

This man, the one Faraday had often hid, was the man he was now. Scared, lonely and paranoid, Owen Grady hid behind a confident exterior, using his knowledge in his field to distract others from his insecurities. The similarities between the two men were obvious from the first moment he had met Owen Grady. The similarities were obvious even now.

Red made his way up to the catwalk, taking note of the raptors down below watching their leader while stretched out in the sun. Blue gave a soft bark, but Faraday didn’t move. Red glanced at her and once they made eye contact, he clearly nodded. He wanted her to know that he was here to help Faraday. Blue cocked her head to the side before nodding back, stretching out in the sun, eyes half closed.

“Vasquez is about to fight Emma for your honor,” Red started with as he drew level with Faraday, figuring it would get his attention. It did, Faraday jerking slightly before turning, face black but eyes pools of fear. No one would notice it unless they were looking however.

“Whatever that man does is his own business,” Faraday collected himself before pausing for a second. His eyes darted down before forcing out, “Who’s Emma?”

“We both know who Emma is, so there is no need to play like you don’t know,” Red moved to sit down next to Faraday, leaving some space between them as he looked out on the jungle. “That’s not why I’m here. You need time to process, I can see that.”

“So you all…know?” Faraday watched him warily. Red hated that this man did not trust him in this life, knowing that in the last life all that they had gone through.

“We’ve all known for some time, but that’s not why I’m out here,” Red turned to Faraday, crossing his legs. “How are you really doing?”

Faraday gave a short laugh, sounding a little hysterical, “She threatened to kill my girls.”

“I’m sure she didn’t mean to,” Red gave a small, sad smile. “I think she is trying to get you to understand the position you are in right now.”

“I don’t know how to change what I’m doing. I am doing everything I can to prove to them that my girls won’t hurt them,” Faraday ran a hand over his face. “They shouldn’t be trapped like this. They shouldn’t be locked up, imprisoned, trapped!”

“Did you ever talk to someone afterwards?” Red asked calmly, keeping his face blank.

Faraday flinched, looking away, “Those shrinks just told me that it was all in my head. That the fear wasn’t real.”

“But it is real. Your parents were shit, I’m going to assume. So you joined up and in the end, all of your friends are killed,” Red leaned forward. “You shouldn’t have been out in three months.”

“I wasn’t staying for another three,” Faraday growled. “It wasn’t safe. Nothing was safe again till I held Blue in my arms. She was so tiny, but her eyes were all Jack’s.”

“That horse was hell with four legs,” Red snorted. “We left him with Teddy afterwards. Came back for his and Emma’s wedding and they said he’d taken off and was running around the area. Sam tried to catch him, but Jack broke his arm and a few ribs. He lived a good life afterwards.”

“They killed the others in front of us,” Faraday leaned forward, against the railing. “Me and the two others who survived. We were the only ones with rank in the group, they thought we were worth something. At least, that’s what we assumed. They killed the translator first. I guess they just figured we’d be more fun to break because they never asked for a ransom.”

“You were down there for a month,” Red reached out and rested a hand on Faraday’s leg. “You are not weak because you lived.”

“Those boys were all in their first tour, the one had a ring,” Faraday sucked in a deep breath. “The only guy who understood was the chaplain, said that it was their time but sometimes its too soon. The shrink said that I was taking it too personally.”

“You watched them die, you watch them get murdered,” Red squeezed Faraday’s leg. “Let it out.”

“I died and I wake up and its…we were leaving that house, you were carrying me and it blew up…I thought it was happening all over again,” Faraday curled in on himself, squeezing the bars in front of him, squeezing his eyes shut. “I thought I was throwing that dynamite again and getting blown up. I thought I was still lying in that field and it was another dream because of the blood loss. I thought I was still dying.”

“You weren’t….you didn’t die right away?” Red moved to his knees, shifting closer, worry now on his face.

“I laid there, in the grass, for what felt like hours,” Faraday’s hands were white. “I couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t feel anything but I could see the clouds moving. There was a crow that was circling overhead. Just watching…always watching.”

Red moved with less grace than he normally had, but Faraday needed him. He pulled the man close, prying his hands off the bars and holding him close as he sobbed into Red’s chest. He held him, rubbing his back and telling him he wasn’t alone until Faraday calmed down, but he didn’t let go till Faraday pulled away on his own.

“You left me cards,” Faraday wiped at his eyes, keeping his head down.

“I knew you right away. Not because of the blood, but because I came into that cell and you looked me right in the eyes and told me I could go screw myself,” Red squeezed Faraday’s shoulder. “Faraday did that. Owen Grady does that. You do that.”

Faraday gave a watery laugh, “Did Vasquez really start a fight with Emma?”

Red sat back on his heels, smiling. Faraday was going to be ok. They had a ways to go, but he would be ok.


	13. Together Once More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize now, but I'm not sure if I will be able to post this weekend. I will for sure shoot for the next chapter to be up Monday. Halloween weekend is my time to go crazy, so got a busy schedule. Hopefully this chapter will tide you over!

After a few more tears and more than a few laughs, Red and Owen had gone their separate ways. The Seal had gone who knows where, probably to stalk someone or something. Owen had gone down and checked on his girls, collecting himself before going in search of Claire. He’d found her in the trailer, talking to the security detail. He kept his temper down and his face blank but he heard her out while the others had lounged around in their trailer. He didn’t make eye contact with any of them but forced himself to relax. Knowing that they all remembered, even Claire, was something he hadn’t counted on.

Red wouldn’t tell anyone that he remembered, but they still needed to know. Owen just needed to figure out how.

It was with those thoughts that he had gone to bed, which in hindsight wasn’t the best thing to do. He’d woken up in his bungalow, heart pounding and drenched in sweat, thinking that Bogue had been in the desert and his friends had been strung up and tortured before the entire world had blown up.

Owen scrubbed at his face, trying to calm his breathing. He was used to the nightmares at this point but that didn’t make this one any less worse. He wasn’t going to get anymore sleep tonight and staying here in his bungalow, enclosed, was starting to make him feel claustrophobic.

He should have stopped to grab shoes or a shirt, but he was still so warm that the shorts were fine. It was a tropical island anyway and he was going out by his girls. They radiated so much warmth on their own that he would be fine till they had to get up.

He didn’t check the time either, but it was still dark out. It really didn’t matter the time till the sun came up. The gravel under his feet was a comfort, hard rocks poking into the soles. He’d said no to sand when they were redoing his parking area. Sand had its purpose and it was not here.

Blue’s head was up as he drew close to the paddock, blinking sleepily. He gave a low whistle and she chirped back before putting her head back down. Chris had fixed the gates in the afternoon, so they now locked again. He wasn’t ready to go in yet, just wanted to watch the girls for a bit before he settled down. He let his hands hang at his sides, just standing there, listening to the sounds of the jungle and watching his girls sleep, feeling himself relax just a little more.

There was a crunch of gravel under a boot to his left and that was his only warning that someone was nearby. He knew that all of the guys could walk around silently and that the crunch had been a courtesy. He still jumped when a hand fell gently on his shoulder.

“You ok, guero?” Vasquez’s smooth voice had him relaxing more than he expected. They’d started off as enemies on their way to Rose Creek, but somehow it had grown into a friendship. They hated each other of course, but only they could be assholes to each other. Anyone who tried to hurt one of them had to deal with the other. They’d never done anything before Rose Creek, but that one night overseas might have just been both of them finally realizing what had been there all along.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Owen grunted, his voice sounding hoarse. Damn, he must’ve been screaming.

“Heard some noises in your house,” Vasquez moved closer, not quite touching but Owen could feel the heat coming off him. “Was out patrolling and was going to check on you when you came out. Sounded pretty rough.”

“Just memories. Talking to Red yesterday brought some stuff back that I tried to leave in the desert,” Owen shivered, wrapping his arms around himself, eyes firmly on his girls. Vasquez squeezed his shoulder.

“We all have memories over there we want to forget. Some, not so much,” Vasquez said wistfully. “If you ever want to talk, we all are willing to help. I know the last guys you had out here were jerks but Claire handpicked us so that you would actually feel safe out here.”

“She know your background or just a happy coincidence?” Owen wrapped his arms tighter around himself.

“Sanjay had us go to the airport to get her in India. She worked really hard to get us transferred out here,” Vasquez let out a huff of air before moving to stand behind Owen. “I’m going to wrap my arms around you, guero. Is that ok?”

“I learned what guero means. Still haven’t decided if it’s an insult or not,” Owen dropped his head down. Vasquez made a little noise in his throat, almost a sob before wrapping his arms around Owen’s waist, pulling him back against his chest. Owen could feel the tac vest under his button up shirt and the gun belt that Vasquez wore. He’d never admit it, but those gave him a sense of stability.

“How long have you remembered, guero?” Vasquez rested his chin on Owen’s shoulder, pressing his head against Owen’s.

Owen let out a long breath, gripping Vasquez’s arm tightly with one of his hands, “All my life. I thought they were just really bad dreams. I forgot about them a long time in the middle there. Too much else going on in this life. Then…then Red got me out and the place blew up and I couldn’t figure where I was or what was happening. Took a long time to remember that this is real and not just part of dying.”

“Why could you not remember this is real?” Vasquez asked softly, obvious concern in his voice.

“I was blown up but….I didn’t die right away,” Owen knew that this part was going to hurt, but the more people he talked to about this, the better he could handle it. “I laid there, who knows how long, just bleeding out. I was afraid, with Red, that I hadn’t actually died. I was never good with explosions, going through basic. Got a handle on it but…I was too close to being broken when Red got me out.”

“Geurito,” Vasquez tightened his arms, pulling Owen even closer. “You and Red, you talked about this today didn’t you?”

“Yeah, its all just too close to the surface right now,” Owen breathed out. “I’ll be fine. I just had to check on the girls.”

“We won’t let them go anywhere, geurito. I promise. We’ll smuggle them if we have to,” Vasquez reached up and took Owen’s hand. Owen squeezed back, blinking away tears. He was too tired for this, but he had missed Vasquez, had needed his friend back, had needed his support again.

“We shouldn’t do that, Claire would get in trouble,” Owen laughed, only a little watery.

“Emma can take care of herself, she did survive the I-Rex,” Vasquez laughed.

“She survived because of me. She was the one running around like a chicken,” Owen snorted as he pulled away and sat down on the ground. “She didn’t even know how old her nephews were.”

“I’m sure she does now,” Vasquez moved so he was standing by Owen’s side, looking down at him, head cocked to the side. Owen patted the ground, giving Vasquez a shy smile. Vasquez gave him a full smile and sat down with his back resting against the fence, legs touching Owen’s.

“Red said you almost fought her,” Owen smiled softly.

“You were the one who dated her. And kissed her,” Vasquez huffed, knocking his foot against Owen’s thigh.

“I didn’t think you were real,” Owen dropped his head. “I wanted you to be.”

Vasquez’s smile could not get any bigger, Owen swore it could not as the man leaned forward, reaching out with his left hand. He opened his mouth to say something.

And then the world was on fire.


	14. Wake Me Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! I FOUND TIME! HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER! I LOVE YOU ALL BUT I'M NOT SORRY ABOUT THE LAST CHAPTER AND THIS ONE PROBABLY WON'T MAKE IT BETTER BUT MAYBE IT WILL.

Vasquez was leaning forward, reaching for him. His mouth was opening and then…..

Fire, so much fire. It was everywhere, eating at him, killing him. He couldn’t get away from it, even as the clouds floated above him, ignoring his pleas for help. He was dying, still dying, it had all been a dream. Vasquez had been there but he wasn’t. He was still lying in the field, on the edge of the crater that had once been the gatling gun. The crow still circled overhead, its mouth opening but there was no sound save for the ringing. The constant ringing. He didn’t think he would go out like this.

Vasquez had been there. He had been reaching for him. Had told him to be safe. Had told him he was safe. He had been safe, he had been alive.

It had all been a lie.

“Faraday, breath.”

“Let Blue out before she hurts herself!”

He was alone again, still dying. His girls didn’t exist.

“Someone get the blankets from the trailer.”

“Faraday, geurito, please breath!”

He was alone. He was burning. Why couldn’t he smell his burning flesh anymore? Was he going to die now?

“Blue, stay back.”

“I’m sorry, geurito.”

He was dying. He was **_BAM!_**

Something slammed into the side of his face, snapping his head around and forcing his eyes open. Vision still blurry, he could still make out the gravel before him leading into the jungle edge. He reared back, taking in a huge gulp of air as he scanned the area, taking in the familiar tree line. Something had blown up….

“Good, geurito, good. Keep breathing.”

Faraday snapped his head around, the world spinning a little as his focus landed on the man straddling his legs, eyes full of concern. Vasquez. Vasquez was here.

“You…”Faraday breathed out, finally noticing how tight his chest was. Panic attack. Flashback. This was real, “Oh god, you.”

“Easy, geurito,” Vasquez leaned in, pressing his forehead to Faraday’s as he brought up Faraday’s hand he was holding (how long had that been going on?) to his chest, letting Faraday feel his heartbeat. “Just try to relax, ok? I’ve got you, I will protect you. Focus on me.”

Faraday closed his eyes, gripping Vasquez’s hand tightly, focusing on Vasquez’s rising and falling chest to try to get his own breathing back to normal. It sounded like he was dying, like he couldn’t remember how to breathe. He couldn’t, though. Was this real? If Vasquez was here then…”Blue.”

“She’s right here. Blue, come here,” Vasquez pulled away, Faraday opening his eyes as he did so. Vasquez stayed where he was, weight comfortable on Faraday’s legs. Blue appeared over Vasquez’s shoulder, chuffing softly as she shifted restlessly, eyes huge. Faraday reached out his free hand, a whimper escaping the back of his throat. Blue moved around Vasquez immediately, flopping down so she was touching both men with her head pressed to Faraday’s chest, shoving her scales against Faraday’s outstretched hand. Faraday wrapped his fingers over the ridge on her head, letting the rough scales ground him.

“It’s real. It’s all real,” Faraday breathed out. No…Faraday died in a field years ago. He was Owen. Owen Grady. Chief Raptor Handler at Jurassic World. Former Marine.

“That’s right, geurito, it’s real,” Vasquez squeezed his hand, letting his other one become tangled with the one Owen was using to grip Blue’s head. The raptor just huffed, nudging her head up against their hands.

“What…what happened?” Owen forced out, letting his eyes drift to above Vasquez’s shoulder. He could see the hints of flames behind the other man, as well as smoke billowing into the air, “Oh god, is everyone ok? Was anyone hurt?”

“Only you,” Vasquez gave a small smile. “You threw yourself forward to cover me when the bomb went off. I was moving forward to get you and you ended up banging into the fence. Nothing serious, just some bruises as far as I can see.”

“That’s why I’m leaning against the fence,” Owen let his head fall back against the metal.

“That and it lets your other babies be near you,” Vasquez nodded behind him. Owen turned his head to see the other three raptors, Charlie included, huddled behind him, watching him intently. Delta was pressed up against the fence while her sisters laid on her, all giving soft chuffs when they see Owen looking at them.

“Hey, ladies,” Owen said gently, oddly touched by the display of loyalty.

“We got those three calmed down. Well, Barry and Chris did. Barry let Blue out when she tried to climb the fence to get to you. The others are working on getting the fire out. They have it contained, but right now all they can do is let it burn itself out unless the guys inland come out,” Vasquez leaned forward a little, lifting Owen’s hand that was on his chest to his lips. “Claire won’t let anyone move till we’re sure this was the only location that was to be attacked.”

“What blew up?” Owen turned back to look at Vasquez just as Red appeared behind the other man, arms full of blankets.

“Your bungalow. Billy has an idea of what happened, but he wants to take a look through the rubble once the fire has burned down,” Red crouched down by Vasquez, dropping the blankets and running a hand over Blue’s back. If Owen wasn’t trying to not panic, he’d be amazed at all the contact Blue was allowing from strangers. Red glanced between the two of them before continuing after Vasquez nodded at him, “You’ve been out of it for around an hour. I had to talk you down from knifing Sam with a stick once we figured out was going on then you kinda just…collapsed.”

“I thought I was back in the field. That’s all I remember. The fire and then the field,” Owen shook his head. “Vasquez was reaching for me then he was slapping me?”

“You were turning purple,” Vasquez did not look sorry. “Blue even screamed at you.”

“I don’t…I’m sorry,” Owen kept shaking his head. “I wasn’t here, but I was dying and you were gone and I don’t…”

“Hey, hey, geurito, relax,” Vasquez squeezed his hand. “This is real and I am here. You are alive and I am straddling your legs well before the first date.”

Owen couldn’t help but laugh a little, squeezing back, “I am sorry for worrying you.”

“Well, you were gonna fight Sam for my honor, so I think we’re even,” Vasquez glanced at Red, who nodded. “Let’s get you up, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah I should see how the others are doing,” Owen pulled his hands free from Vasquez could stand and used them to pull Blue up for a tight hug. “You’re my good girl, Blue. You’re being so good.”

She gave a little bark before pulling away and standing. With the bodies no longer lying on him, Owen realized how cold he was, only in shorts in the early morning air. He shivered as Red and Vasquez pulled him up. Red immediately scooped up the blankets and efficiently wrapped Owen in three. He stepped away and let Vasquez move in to wrap an arm around Owen’s shoulder, giving Owen a clear line of sight to his bungalow. What was left burned brightly in the dark, figures moving around the edges as they moved about their business.

“They’d just moved it the morning you guys showed up,” Owen gave a sad sigh. “Last night was the first night I slept in it.”

Owen missed the looks that passed between Red and Vasquez, focusing on moving forward as Blue dashed ahead, barking at the other men to get their attention. Red stayed by Owen and Vasquez, probably incase Owen collapsed again. Owen didn’t care. His house was burning, not him. He was alive, not dying. This was real, not a dream. The guys were here, he wasn’t alone.

Owen leaned in Vasquez, not really seeing his bungalow, focusing on the warmth coming off the other man. He closed his eyes, feeling his last ounce of strength leave him but he didn’t care. He wasn’t dead. He wasn’t alone. He wasn’t on fire.


	15. After the Fall

Vasquez felt Faraday go limp and caught him just before the man could face plant. He quickly laid the other man on the ground and pressed a hand to his neck. His heart rate was steady, but Owen was still cold under his fingers. Red knelt down across from him, quickly tucking the blankets around Owen tightly.

“He’s going to be fine, Eddie,” Red looked up at Vasquez. “Just a shock. Get him inside and warm. We’ll keep busy out here. I think Billy and Goody are reaching out to some friends in their spy ring.”

“They were going to blow him up,” Vasquez dropped his head forward. “Again.”

“I don’t think that was what happened,” Red rested a hand on Vasquez’s shoulder. “Nothing registered on our radar right before the house blew. And what Faraday said, about it being moved the morning we got here? Its possible that someone on that crew planted the bomb.”

“What are you saying?” Vasquez met Red’s eyes.

“It’s a warning, I think, to Faraday. We’ll know more in a few hours. Go get him in the trailer and stay there. Sam wants me to run a scan of the buildings, just in case. The trailer is the only secure building we have,” Red patted Vasquez’s shoulder before standing. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep you posted. Just keep him safe. From himself.”

Vasquez didn’t know what to say as Red moved away, just watched the Seal move to talk to Sam. He shook himself before looking down at Faraday. He looked peaceful even though he had passed out. He’d had stress lines around his eyes the entire time they’d been here. Now, he was relaxed. Not how Vasquez would have liked it to happen, but at least it was happening.

He shifted his hold on Faraday so he had an arm under his shoulders and the other under his legs. He stood once he was sure of his grip, Faraday only a little heavy in his arms. It was a comfortable weight though, and he turned to the trailer confident in his ability with his task. He found Blue waiting by the stairs, watching intently. The raptor stood almost level with him, her eyes unblinking. She cocked her head to the side before stepping up the stairs and **_opening the door_**.

He was going to have a long discussion with Faraday about what was appropriate to teach animals. Like not them being able to kill a man on command or opening doors like they were human. For now he would just follow the she-devil into the trailer. If she wanted to be in there with them, so be it. She was better than a guard dog any day.

He moved past Blue towards his bunk, not surprised to hear the door close behind him. Blue had hovered nearby the entire time he was trying to calm Faraday, making small noises at the back of her throat. She wasn’t going to leave her human alone, not if she was anything like Jack. Too many a morning he had woken on the trail to find the horse standing or curled up by the gambler, watching everyone else with wary eyes. Faraday had just patted the horse on the nose and gone about his morning like nothing was out of the ordinary.

Vasquez set Faraday down on his bunk, shifting him as close to the wall as possible. He snagged some of the blankets off the others’ bunks and spread them out over Faraday. Once he was satisfied that Faraday was set, he turned to see what Blue was up to. She looked up at him from a nest of pillows by the door, trying to look innocent. For an animal the size of a small horse, it was a hard thing to do. How she had moved all of those pillows without him knowing was he probably would never know. He didn’t want to know, actually.

“Keep an eye on the door, ok? I’ll take care of boy,” Vasquez looked Blue straight in the eyes, just as he had seen Faraday do before. Blue watched for a second before dipping her head down and turning to face the door. Vasquez could not believe that it had worked but he was going to not think about it too much.

He turned back to Faraday and found tired green eyes staring at him. He couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips as he moved to the bunk and sat down on the edge, reaching out to run a hand through Faraday’s hair, “Hey, geurito.”

“Where am I?” Faraday asked, his words sounding rough.

“I brought you to my bunk in the trailer. We’ve got our own security system for our stuff, figured you’d be safe in here. Blue’s guarding the door,” Vasquez shifted so he could pull his boots off. “I’m on orders to keep you in here.”

“There’s something I can be doing,” Faraday tried to push himself, but Vasquez pressed him back down into the bed.

“Yeah, there is. Sleep,” Vasquez admonished before quickly pulling off his tac vest and gun belt, setting them on the table across from him. He stood and pulled off his jeans and his long sleeved shirt so he was standing in his boxers. He left his clothes in a pile on the floor, not too worried about anyone tripping on it. Faraday watched through half closed eyes, only looking a little confused.

“What are you doing?” Faraday finally broke the silence as Vasquez sat back down on the bed.

“Well, I need to make sure you get some sleep and I want to make sure you’re ok,” Vasquez shifted the blankets a little before lying down, stretching out beside Faraday as he pulled the blankets over himself. “Might as well be comfortable.”

“Remember you being a good pillow,” Faraday shifted so he was lying on his side, looking at Vasquez. The older man huffed before reaching out and pulling Faraday half on top of him, holding him close.

“I remember you being a snuggler,” Vasquez held Faraday close. “I had fun that night.”

“Better you be glad I had some rank,” Faraday rubbed his face against Vasquez’s chest.

“I’ll be glad when you stop fighting and go to sleep,” Vasquez pulled the blankets up tight around the other man, smiling fondly. “I’ll make fun of you tomorrow for passing out.”

“I was safe,” Faraday mumbled before his breathing evened out. Vasquez held him tighter, staring up at the ceiling. Faraday had felt safe with him, with them there. From what Red had said about the last time Faraday had been involved with explosives, the man had gone into a downward spiral of destruction.

“I’ll keep you safe forever, geurito,” Vasquez pressed a kiss into Faraday’s hair before relaxing back into the bed. He’d need to be well rested deal with tomorrow. He had no doubt that once Faraday had himself collected, he was going to be as stubborn as a mule. They’d have their work cut out for them, but Vasquez wouldn’t have it any other way.


	16. Hold Onto Your Butts

Sam looked up, sun high in the sky, as the door to the trailer slammed open. Faraday came storming out, face thunderous, in nothing but shorts. It was kinda funny and he could hear Billy and Goody sniggering at their computers over in the tent they’d erected for a command center. Faraday in his shorts, being followed by an overeager Blue and a flustered Vasquez, who had his tac vest half attached over his bare chest and was pulling on a boot with his fly still open. Well, not every day he saw Vasquez with his pants nearly down. He would hold onto that image for blackmail later.

“Who the hell tried to blow me up?” Faraday came to a stop in front of Sam, arms cross and obviously trying his best to imitate one of his raptors when they were angry. It wasn’t helping that Blue was standing behind him, her goddamn tail practically wagging in excitement.

“Nice to see you, too, Mr. Grady,” Sam decided to keep going with the pretense that Faraday was oblivious to their shared past. Although, from how he handled Red and Vasquez earlier, that was probably not true.

“Oh, cut the bull, Chisolm,” Faraday snapped, effectively silencing the other man. “Stop playing games and give me a straight answer. Who the fuck tried to blow me up?”

“My team and I are handling it, Mr. Grady,” Sam held his hands up in a placating manner. Faraday was obviously agitated and he had a right to be. Although which reason was the bee in the bonnet was yet to be seen. Having a meltdown in front of all of them? Maybe. Nearly dying last night? Good possibility. Waking up to Vasquez? Depends on the man’s state of mind.

“I’m a former Marine, Chisolm, and I’ve worked security like this before. I am not sitting on my ass when my girls are in danger,” Faraday was practically snarling by the end.

“Guerito, maybe we should go back inside, let them work,” Vasquez reached out for Faraday, but the man just jerked away, glaring at both of them.

“I am not some helpless civilian in need of saving, Vasquez. I am going with, wherever you are going. I will not be left behind,” Faraday was practically challenging them and with the raptor at his side, he cut an imposing figure. Other than he was just standing there in his shorts.

“With all do respect, Mr. Grady, we have worked as a team for years and adding in someone new at this point, especially with something as sensitive as this,” Sam was going to keep acting like he hadn’t fought alongside Faraday before until the man admitted it himself. Two people could play the stubborn game and so far no one had beaten him. He didn’t see Faraday holding out too much longer.

“Sensitive?! I don’t have a house!” Faraday waved at the crater next to them. “Its personal now!”

“Mr. Grady, please,” Sam tried again to calm the man, but he wasn’t listening.

“I am coming with. Blue, on me,” Faraday turned on his heel and stalked away towards the paddock. Barry and Chris were standing on the catwalks and watching carefully as the man, followed by the raptor, marched into the office.

Sam reached out and stopped Vasquez from following, “Go get dressed. Be quick, I don’t think we’re going to win this one.”

Vasquez sighed but headed back into the trailer. Sam turned back to the others. Horne and Red had taken it upon themselves to sift through what was left of the bungalow once Billy and Goody were done, a pile forming not too far away of what the two were deeming salvageable. Faraday would have to go through it eventually to make final decisions on everything. Right now, Horne was sitting on the edge of the crater, examining something that looked oddly like a bongo drum. Red was dragging some of the debris that had been blasted away from the crater back to its rightful location.

“Anything good, Jack?” Sam moved stand by the other man, who looked up at him thoughtfully.

“There is not much here that can be considered personal. We have not found anything resembling a gun case anywhere other than the safe that we assume was in the front closet,” Horned nodded to the warped metal lying nearby. Billy had already cracked the safe and the weapons were lying out on a table in the command tent.

“He has a living space in the office,” Red spoke up as he dropped a pile of something nearby. “He spent more time here than his home.”

“In coming,” Vasquez hissed as he appeared by Sam’s shoulder, shirt and jeans in place as well as his vest and gun belt. They all turned towards the office and were mildly surprised. Faraday was marching towards them fully clothed in a white undershirt, a vest that looked like it had spots for shotgun shells, heavy-duty jeans and what looked to be military issued boots, his shotgun slung by its strap over his shoulder. His tac vest was being carried by a proud looking Blue so that his hands were free to strap a gun belt to his hips, two pistols held firmly in their holsters. He stopped before all of them, Billy and Goody moving to the entrance of the tent to watch what was happening. He shifted the belt a little before meeting Sam’s eyes and he was surprised by what he could see.

Every time the two had made eye contact, he had clearly seen Owen Grady in those green eyes. He was sure of himself, but there was still fear there and something wild. Now, he was seeing the soldier he had met all those years ago in the middle of the desert and the gambler who had complained about not getting his drink after watching the bartender get a hole punched through his head.

“Well, Mr. Grady, just because you have the duds doesn’t mean you can go with,” Sam crossed his arms, waiting.

“Good lord, Chisolm,” Faraday snorted, pulling out on of the pistols for the man to see. While modern in appearance, the handle had pearl inlay in the grip. Carved into the pearl was one name. Maria.

“Well, what are we supposed to do with that?” Sam looked back up into Faraday’s eyes.

“Seven is a better number than six,” Faraday stuck the pistol back in its holster. “And Blue is better at killing people than Jack ever could be.”

“We are not bringing the raptor!” Goody laughed from the tent. “But welcome back, Faraday.”

“He better not be changing his name,” Barry called out as he and Chris strode over. “HR would have a field day.”

“Nah, I’m still Owen Grady,” Faraday smiled, showing a few more teeth than necessary at his friend. “Faraday and Grady are the same person, the name doesn’t matter.”

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Grady,” Sam held out his hand and Faraday took it. “We’re all gonna call you Faraday now, though.”

“I’m not that man anymore. I just want to make that clear,” Faraday looked around at the others, gaze serious. “For one, whisky and raptors do not mix.”

Sam had never heard a more beautiful sound then all of them laughing. It sounded like coming home.


	17. How Bad Can it Honestly Be?

As much as everyone wanted to immediately go after whoever had tried to kill their newest member, even though technically he was the second one in the group in the first place, there were a few things that stopped that from happening. First, they had to find the bastards. Easier said than done. Although once Barry had gotten Billy and Goody in contact with Lowery, things seemed to go faster. Possibly because Billy had finally found someone who just might be better at breaking the deep net than he was. Possibly.

Secondly, they needed a way off the island. As much as Claire and Sanjay wanted to sanction the manhunt and give as many resources to the team as possible, they really couldn’t. Not right now, not so soon after the I-Rex Incident. The only people who knew about Owen’s place being blown up were the guys there and the people running the control room, which was a mix of the people Claire had trusted to come back and the people Sanjay had sent her. They were keeping the incident quiet for now. So Sanjay would need time to wrangle them some transport while coming up with a plausible cover story as to why funds from Masrani Global were being used to move a mercenary crew around the world.

Lastly, there was the storm. The storm that had been on Owen’s mind all week until his house had been blown up. Storms had never really been a problem here, protocol had been laid out from the very beginning as to what to do. The real problem came in when you tried to go anywhere within 12 hours of the storm beginning and then again 12 hours after it ended. He could use that time to check over his kit and probably Blue’s as well. He wasn’t going to leave her behind on this.

Which brought Owen to his current predicament. Trying to persuade the Six that the raptors could stay in the trailer with them. Barry and Chris were just sitting back by the firepit, enjoying the show and not being helpful with Charlie lying at their feet. Delta was poking around in some grass nearby while Echo was trying to mimic Blue, who was standing just a little behind Owen. While Blue was pulling off the intimidating vibe, Echo kept snapping at bugs. He was choosing to ignore both of them in favor of focusing on the Six.

“They are perfectly well behaved! I’ve done this before and I’m still whole,” Owen was not going to beg to Sam Chisolm, not today. Not when they were all still trying to piece Owen Grady and Joshua Faraday together. Faraday had been looser, more focused on what he could do and not what he should do. Owen Grady was, first of all, educated much, much better than Faraday and he was a lot more responsible. Or so he liked to think.

“You want us to bunk down with four raptors in our trailer during a hurricane?” Sam’s eyebrow could not get any higher, it just could not.

“Blue already likes you guys, that’s setting you up good with the other girls,” Owen gestured at the others. Delta chose that moment to squawk in triumph and nose dive into the grass. She popped back up holding a snake in her mouth and trotted over to Owen, dropping the dead thing at his feet and looking all too proud of herself. Owen bent down and picked it up, all too used to his girls and their antics. He examined the snake thoroughly, Delta practically vibrating with happiness. He patted her on the head, “It’s a very nice snake, Delta. Good girl. Go find me another one.”

Delta trotted off, Echo leaving her post to follow and see what her sister was doing. Owen turned to the others, still holding the snake. Everyone but Red looked disgusted, “What?”

“She just caught you a snake,” Goody sounded horrified. “And you picked it up like it was a garden hose.”

“You should’ve been here the time she caught a monkey,” Owen smiled proudly. “There’s a reason there aren’t any around here.”

“And you want us to welcome them into our safe space?” Sam crossed his arms. “Seriously? I’m pretty sure we have just hit a new level of crazy and we all got reborn.”

“They’re harmless,” Owen started, which earned a sharp bark from Blue, who looked almost hurt. “Blue, you know I mean it in the best way.”

“You’re talking to the raptor,” Goody shook his head. “Like she understands you.”

Blue snarled at Goody, taking a step forward. Owen held out his arm to stop her, “Blue, he’s a skeptic. Give him time.”

“Seriously, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Billy rested a hand on Goody’s shoulder. “We have a hurricane bearing down on us and we need to decide where we’re weathering it out.”

“I told you, we move the trailer into the paddock and secure it to the main building. You’ll be fine,” Owen shrugged. “Trust me, I’ve weather my fair share. The last one, I actually stayed in the stables with the girls.”

“Yeah, and I was sure I was going to just find bones in the morning,” Barry called from his seat. “Either you guys head into the main park right now and get into a shelter or you do as the man says. We’re staying out here. We have to, Claire won’t let us bring the girls in and if we leave them alone there’s a good chance something bad will happen.”

“Well, I’m staying out here,” Vasquez moved to stand by Owen, throwing an arm around his shoulders. “Blue likes me well enough. And you know we can’t leave them out here on their own.”

“I’ll get the trailer hooked up to the truck,” Red moved away from where he was leaning against the trailer. “See if you can find something to tie it to the fence.”

“I’ve got a welder around here somewhere. Blue, go find the welder!” Owen turned as Blue jogged off, following her into one of the storage rooms. Vasquez smiled cheekily at the others before following.

“We’re doomed, aren’t we?” Goody looked at Sam sadly.

“At least you have Billy,” Sam replied gruffly before moving into the trailer to secure their belongings. He did not sign up for a sleepover with raptors, but it looked like he was going to have one anyway.

“Hey, we found Blue’s helmet!” Owen’s voice carried into through the open door and Sam ran a hand over his face. He was starting to remember why Faraday rubbed on his nerves so much before.


	18. On the Edge

The storm hit the island slowly, the hurricane slowly crawling over it. The first edge hit a couple hours after what Owen would consider his sleepover victory, the wind picking up and rain starting to lightly fall. Owen had been outside at the time, securing some of the items that they had been leaving lying around. The girls had gotten excited, loving rain and mud and all things messy. The Six had looked horrified at first, watching the three healthy raptors splashing around in the mud. Owen, Barry and Chris had worked together to get Charlie moved inside already, a nest made for her and her sisters near the door.  

Owen wasn’t worried about his girls at all. They’d gone through their fair share of hurricanes and tropical storms over the past couple years. His biggest worry was the A-team, as he was going to refer to them as since it seemed to piss all of them off. He didn’t know if they had ever handled weather like this before. He also was, although he wouldn’t admit it, still shaken from last night. He was putting on a brave face right now, but he could feel it cracking with each minute that passed.

Everyone was inside now, a few hours into the storm. It wasn’t bad yet, just a lot of wind and rain and some lightning in the distance. He was ignoring everyone else in favor of checking in with Claire one more time.

“We should have enough supplies to get us through a couple of days if the roads don’t hold,” Owen was checking over his inventory list. Chris and Barry had gone through all of their stuff with Jack to make sure they knew where everything was and had updated his list that he required to be updated at least once a day.

“Sanjay has rescue crews on standby, but we’re having to vet a lot of our people right now,” Claire sounded a little frazzled. “Your friends found some leaks from our side of things. I don’t want anyone stepping on this island who is one hundred percent on our side until after we’re cleared by the UN.”

“Found who planted the bomb yet? Because I know it was a bomb planted in my house and these guys are denying that they know anything. Like I’m fragile or something,” Owen huffed, keeping his back towards the others as he stared out one of the windows as best he could through the boards he’d put up himself, much to Vasquez’s horror. The man was trying to baby him, the nerve of him.

“I’m not saying anything over the phone, Owen,” Claire actually laughed at him. “Relax, I know how you get with storms. Maybe let your man pamper you or something. I gotta go, Teddy is looking like he might murder Lowery if I don’t eat something. I’ll check in once the storm passes but if anything happens, you have my sat number.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Owen sighed. “Be safe, Claire. No trying to take on a T-Rex or something.”

“I promise, there are no new hybrids in the works. But a few might have hatched. Bye!” and with that, Claire hung up on him. Owen stared at the phone, a little horrified. He was sure she was just messing with him, but on the other hand she very well might not be.

“Are you finally done checking in with everyone or are you going to call the grounds crew next?” Red drawled from where he was sitting on his top bunk, whittling away at his piece of wood.

“I just need to double check everything one more time,” Owen shot him a glare as he shoved his cellphone in his pocket and moved for the door. Because he had been standing at the far end of the trailer, he had to go past everyone to get there. Barry and Chris had claimed the bunk nearest the door and the raptors, just to put everyone at ease. The trailer had more bunks than necessary anyways, so everyone was fine with it. Owen hadn’t picked a bunk yet, but he could just lie down by his girls. The nest was pretty comfy.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Arms snaked around his waist and he was pulled back and shoved down onto a bunk, Vasquez hovering over him. “You have checked everything three times, guero. We are safe, we are secure and we have enough food to last us three weeks. If the power goes out, we have five backup generators. And if we are attacked, we have enough ammo and weapons to level a small country at the least. Possibly Texas if we form a solid enough plan. You need to relax.”

“Ha, good luck with that one,” Barry laughed from where he and Chris were curled up together. “Last hurricane, he paced the entire time in the observation room because Claire and Simon denied him access to his raptors. They overrode the door and gate locks so he couldn’t get in. Would have climbed the fence if I hadn’t threatened to shoot him.”

“Over-protective mother, he is,” Chris added for good measure. “If with the girls in arms reach, he’s gonna be restless.”

“You are not leaving this bed for at least six hours. Chisolm said so,” Vasquez growled at Owen. “Right, boss?”

“Gotta rest at some point, Grady, and we all know you haven’t been,” Chisolm didn’t even look up from where he was cleaning his gun. “Been running around all day even though you were coming off a traumatic event. Adrenaline and shock do not mix well.”

“I am fine! I’m not made of glass,” Owen glared at Chisolm then Vasquez. “I don’t need to be motherhenned to death.”

“We’re trying to keep you from dying,” Vasquez sighed, moving off of Owen and leaning against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him. He wasn’t wearing any boots, none of them were, Owen realized. Huh, when had that happened? “Get some rest, please.”

Owen searched Vasquez’s face for a moment before sighing and sitting up, untying his boots, “Its because you said please, nothing more.”

“About time. Some of us are trying to sleep,” Goody grumbled from one bunk over. Billy was sitting by his sprawled out form, looking through a gun catalog.

“If anything changes, you will wake me,” Owen looked between the ones who were awake. Jack had fallen asleep right away, snoring softly below Red on his bunk.

“Yes, sir,” Chisolm threw him a cocky salute. “Now shut up and do as your man tells you.”

“He’s not my man,” Owen grumbled as he crawled into bed by Vasquez, shoving his legs out of the way. Vasquez scooted to the edge so Owen could have the space by the wall.

“And what, pray tell, is he then?” Vasquez looked just a little heartbroken, but he hid it well, always had.

“You’re my Texican, you idiot,” Owen smirked at him as he curled up his side, facing Vasquez. Vasquez smiled like he was the sun as he leaned up against the headboard of the bunk, feet tangling with Owen’s.

“There’s no such thing as a Texican, guerito,” Vasquez took one of Owen’s hands in his, pulling it into his lap and massaging it with both of his. “I’ve told you that.”

“It’s a term of endearment, asshole,” Owen tried to stifle a yawn. “And there is totally a thing such as a Texican. Its what you are.”

“Shut up, Faraday,” Vasquez pinched Owen’s wrist lightly before getting back to work. “And get some sleep. I’ll protect you from the big, bad storm.”

“My own knight in tactical gear,” Owen smiled wistfully, letting his eyes slip closed, finally accepting how tired he was. “Wake me in six. I gotta check Blue’s tactical vest.”

The last thing he heard was Goody sounding horrified as he asked, “Why does a raptor have a tac vest?”


	19. One Foot At a Time

Owen woke slowly, but he knew right away something was leaning over him. Well, someone, going by the hot breath he could feel against his neck, “Blue wants something, Barry.”

“She’s your child, Owen. Deal with her,” Barry grumbled from somewhere a little ways away, sounding just as tired.

“She’s only mine when she wants something,” Owen still didn’t open his eyes, even when the nose of a raptor nudged his shoulder.

“No, she’s always yours. The other three are mine because they need attention too. They’re yours when they’re being shits now let me sleep,” Barry grumbled and Owen could hear him move on the bed he was lying on.

“Does she need to use to the bathroom?” another voice, Jack it sounded like, cut in.

“Litterbox in the corner,” both Barry and Owen said at the same time. Blue huffed and barked. Owen thought at him till the body he hadn’t noticed he was curled up against shifted.

“I can’t make him wake up any more than you can, missy,” Vasquez sounded amused. “She just wants cuddles, guero.”

“She can get in the bed whenever she wants,” Owen finally opened his eyes, blinking against the light. He was lying so that his head was in Vasquez’s lap, the other man having a hand resting against his head as he read a book. Blue was standing by the bed, watching him intently. When she saw his eyes were open, she bent down and picked up something from the ground.

“How long have I been asleep?” Owen asked as he reached out to take Blue’s tac vest from her.

“A little over seven hours,” Vasquez set down his book, watching the two of them. “Eye hasn’t hit us yet.”

“So how much longer are we stuck here for?” Owen sat up, taking the vest in both hands. Blue snorted happily before heading back to the nest.

“Another many long hours,” Vasquez laughed. “I think Barry went back to sleep.”

“Shoulda been there when we were camped out in the nursery. Hand me a pen light?” Owen examined the tac vest closely. He’d gotten it as a joke early on, but he did make sure to buy quality stuff. Blue had loved wearing it. Hopefully it still fit.

Vasquez pulled one out of one of his pockets in his cargo pants and went back to his book, “Were two this bad? Billy and Red were dropping stuff off the bunk at one point and neither of you even flinched.”

“If its not related to the raptors, we could care less. Learned it real quick when the nursey got too busy,” Owen turned on the pen light and started checking over the vest. “Trikes can be real loud when they’re hungry, let me tell you.”

“I’ll trust ya on that one,” Vasquez laughed.

“You two do realize how crazy that whole conversation would sound out of context, right?” Chisolm cut through their conversation. Owen glanced up to see him at the table, this time facing them and looked to be playing solitaire.

“You do realize we are on an island filled with dinosaurs in the middle of a hurricane having a sleepover with four raptors and the majority of us share a past life?” Owen went back to checking the vest. When he felt Vasquez tense next to him, he nudged his knee against Vasquez’s leg, “Barry and I talked about it, way before the I-Rex incident. Barry can’t keep anything away from Chris and I know for a fact his techniques are really unfair. So they know.”

“Well, that makes this less awkward,” Chisolm laughed and laid down another card. “Although I’m pretty sure the kissing bombshell was worse than the “I slept with Faraday and didn’t realize it till I was over the Atlantic” over there.”

“Are you serious?” Owen looked at Vasquez, who looked a little embarrassed, but nodded. “I thought you knew right away!”

“No, actually. Your hair was different and you were clean-shaven. And we were a little drunk. I had other things I was focused on, too!” Vasquez looked a little flustered. “I didn’t realize you didn’t know till we got here and you acted like we were strangers.”

“Well, I have other priorities here than figuring out how crazy my life can get,” Owen chuckled, focusing on the vest once more.

“Like making sure your raptor is kitted out properly?” Chisolm was laughing now.

“Safety is the first priority around here. Hold on,” Owen leaned over Vasquez to dig into his bag. He pulled out a photo album and flipped it open to a page. He showed it to Chisolm first before handing it to Vasquez. “Blue’s first time on the motorcycle. She had a blast.”

“Why doesn’t she have goggles?” Vasquez coughed into his hand, trying not to laugh.

“Try getting goggles that fit her head,” Owen shrugged before getting back to work. “Got pictures of all the girls growing up.”

“So does that make Chris and Vasquez the step parents here?” Red poked his head over the edge of the bunk, at some point having moved. “Seeing as Barry and Faraday are their parents?”

“Always wanted nieces and nephews to spoil, Faraday, but I would’ve preferred less teeth,” Chisolm was laughing out-loud now.

“Vasquez and I aren’t married! Not like Chris and Barry,” Owen jerked his head up, looking horrified. “Right?”

“Easy, guerito, we did not get married,” Vasquez laughed, patting his leg. “You never said yes to my first proposal. Figured I’d let us get to know each other in this life before I tried again.”

“You proposed to me? When?” Owen turned to face Vasquez, dumbfounded. He would remember if the man had proposed him.

“Six shots and a pine box not good enough for you, guerito?” Vasquez laughed. “You seemed happy with it back then.”

“How was that a proposal? How was I supposed to know?” Owen threw up his hands.

Vasquez grabbed them, pulling them into his lap, “Well, I’ll just have to redo it, then.”

“Not if he beats you to the punch first,” Chris called from the far end of the trailer and everyone started laughing, even those who had been pretending to sleep, it seemed. Owen just looked flustered and maybe a little annoyed with himself. Vasquez pulled him in by the back of his neck and kissed him long and sweet.

“I’ll make it up to you,” he whispered as he pulled away. That got a small smile on Owen’s lips before he turned to yell at the others.


	20. The Devil's Name Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it for Six Shots! I'm working on a sequel, but it will be a few days before anything is posted. I apologize now for this chapter. Please no murdering in the comments!

The rain had cleared about an hour ago. The clouds still hung low in the sky, but they were no longer threatening to drown them. Faraday had let out the raptors just after he had checked the radar for the hundredth time, not even joking. Vasquez watched Faraday watch them as they ran around in the mud, playing some sort of twisted game of tag. One of them would catch one of her sisters and drag them violently down into the mud before racing off. Owen was sitting on the hood of the jeep, looking content and relaxed for the first time since the Six had gotten there.

Vasquez had been watching with him till Barry had announced that the coffee maker was working. As much as Vasquez loved sitting close to Faraday, now that the man was allowing it, he need his coffee to keep up with him and his girls. Or at least to keep his sanity.

“Claire says there’s trees down on the road from here,” Red appeared at Vasquez’s shoulder, eyeing the man’s coffee before Vasquez wrapped both of his hands around it. Red had a nasty habit of stealing people’s food and drink to teach them to pay attention. Vasquez had learned his lesson early on.

“Faraday said it’d probably around twelve hours before we could move into the park,” Vasquez nodded. “All of our systems up?”

“Billy and Goody are working on it,” Red shrugged. “Our stuff is up, but Lowery was saying there’s static on his end. Nothing major, but enough to cause concern. We’re secure out here, but the park is on lockdown for the time being.”

“Nothing got in, right?” Vasquez took a sip of his coffee, scanning the treeline.

“Nothing that wasn’t already on the island,” Red sighed. “Goody’s contact got back to us once they got the lines back. The bomb was located in the bungalow, planted there days ago. Possibly when it was moved.”

“So some of the people on the island right now?” Vasquez straightened, looking at Red.

“Claire says they cleared out all nonessential personal. So hopefully not,” Red nodded sadly. “She’s got Sanjay’s people looking into for her, seeing as they were hired for this sort of thing, but as soon as we can, Billy and I are heading in to help.”

“Might be too late. No clue what InGen has on the island and until Sanjay gets his people into those files, we’re all in danger,” Vasquez took a big swig of his coffee before passing it off to Red. “I’ll tell him.”

“Be gentle about it,” Red had a slight edge to his voice and Vasquez turned to look at him, eyebrow raised. Red just shrugged, “This is me giving you the shovel talk. I need not say anything more.”

“Well….I did not see that coming,” Vasquez ran his hand over his chin before nodded. “I don’t want to hurt him. But you know how we are. If I do hurt him, give me a heads up first, so I can at least say some prayers.”

“No promises,” Red shrugged before taking up Vasquez’s former post, keeping an eye on the area. Vasquez eyed him warily before just deciding to not think about it and made his way to the jeep. Faraday glanced at him, but kept his eyes on the raptors as he climbed up beside the trainer, throwing an arm around his shoulders.

“You ever join in?” Vasquez asked casually as Blue grabbed Delta by the neck and threw her down into the mud.

“When they were younger. Like, the size of a Maine Coon,” Faraday shrugged, leaning against Vasquez. “And even then it was pushing it. Those claws hurt.”

“I was thinking the teeth,” Vasquez winced as Echo slammed into Blue. “So violent. They get that from you.”

“Hey, Barry has his moments,” Faraday turned his head to smile at him and Vasquez leaned in to steal a quick kiss.

“I’m sure he does, but not as many as you,” Vasquez smiled back, leaning just out of reach of Faraday’s lips. “I volunteered to come talk to you.”

Faraday’s face grew serious, “What’s up?”

Three things happened at the about the same time. One, the raptors all froze where they were, heads towards the trees. Second, something came flying at the trailer, causing Red to dive inside as something slammed into the ground just feet from the door. Lastly, Vasquez felt something slam into his chest, throwing him back against the windshield of the jeep. He looked down to see a tranq dart in his chest and looked up at the worried Faraday, “Run.”

He saw Faraday bail off the jeep, whistling to the raptors and them quickly running to surround him before the dart took effect, taking him under. He prayed that everyone would be ok this time.

#

He came to with someone calling his name at tapping roughly at his cheek. He jerked his head away, groaning as his chest let him know that something had stepped on it. Maybe a dinosaur of some sort. Faraday could…Faraday!

Vasquez was awake in no time, trying to sit back and being shoved back down as someone yelled for a medic, “I need to find Faraday!”

“Vasquez, I need you to calm down,” Chisolm’s normally calm voice broke through his panic and he looked up at the man holding him down. Chisolm had blood on the side of his face and his shirt was torn. Oh god, what had happened?

“Is everyone ok?” he could not bury everyone again.

“Vasquez, you got hit with a strong tranq dart from a high powered rifle. The medic needs to make sure you aren’t too badly hurt,” Chisolm ignored the question, keeping him in place. All around him, Vasquez could see people moving around and there was yelling from somewhere.

“The raptors? Are they ok?” Vasquez fought against Chisolm, but the tranq was still making his sluggish.

“Barry and Chris are with them,” Chisolm looked up as the medic finally appeared, pulling on a pair of gloves. She looked young but her face was impassive as she pulled up Vasquez’s shirt.

“Are you feeling any discomfort in your chest?” she palpated around where Vasquez assumed the dart had hit. He hissed in response, trying to pull away.

“We’re going to get him on the first bus back, get his blood going to make sure the tranq doesn’t have any adverse effects,” she looked at Chisolm. “Ms. Dearing has given you all full access of the park, so whoever is able can ride with Quin back. We need to get everyone loaded up soon, though.”

“What about the raptors?” Vasquez cut in. “We’re supposed to be protecting them.”

“They’re coming with,” Chisolm finally let go of Vasquez. “He not going to pass out?”

“Might as well fill him in now instead of from a chatty nurse,” the medic shrugged before moving away.

“What the hell is going on, Sam?” Vasquez stressed the man’s first man, feeling desperate.

“Seems the boys who helped move the house also got some fingers into security. An InGen team landed on the far side of the island right before the storm hit,” Chisolm ran a hand over his head, looking ten years older. “Got through the blockade by having some phony clearance that somehow got through. Someone high up funded this.”

“Where’s Faraday?” Vasquez sat up, scanning the group. Red was on a stretcher nearby, the medic who had been checking on Vasquez doing something with the man’s arm. Billy and Goody were in the back of their truck, looking worse for wear but going at their computers like the devil was after them. Horne was sitting on a stretcher not too much farther away, talking to another medic as they stitched up his arm. Security was everywhere, going over everything. Barry and Chris were nowhere insight, but a cattle trailer had somehow gotten out here and he could just see a familiar reptilian eye through the grates.

There was no sign of Faraday.

“They got Red with a dart as well, in the arm,” Chisolm started slowly, almost afraid. “Faraday sent the raptors away, but Charlie wasn’t moving fast so he was helping her. “We came out of the trailer guns blazing, but they were ready. They knew who we were, what we were. They were ready for us. They got Charlie and Faraday, Vasquez. Helicopter landed in the middle of everything and took off before we could do anything.”

“My god,” a hand flew to Vasquez’s mouth, horrified. “Chisolm…”

“Once everyone is taken care of, we are going after them,” although his was shakey, Chilsolm’s eyes were murderous. “We know who’s behind it and we will kill him.”

“Him?” Vasquez felt his stomach drop even lower. “No.”

“Makes sense. If we came back, then so could he,” Chisolm looked Vasquez full in the face. “Bogue has taken over InGen. We aren’t sure where they are, but they’re on one of the islands nearby. We will get Faraday back.”

“I’ll kill Bogue myself,” Vasquez snapped, looking at the trailer. The eye was still there and Vasquez could swear it almost looked like it was crying. Vasquez gritted his teeth, “Bogue will burn.”


End file.
